


Different Side of the Same Monocoin (v3 rewrite)

by fungifaeries



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Akamatsu Kaede Lives, Canon Rewrite, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 85,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27877082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fungifaeries/pseuds/fungifaeries
Summary: New victims, new blackeneds, new mastermind, and new antagonist!!
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Amami Rantaro, Akamatsu Kaede/Chabashira Tenko, Akamatsu Kaede/Harukawa Maki, Akamatsu Kaede/Iruma Miu, Akamatsu Kaede/Oma Kokichi, Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi, Akamatsu Kaede/Shirogane Tsumugi, Akamatsu Kaede/Tojo Kirumi, Akamatsu Kaede/Yonaga Angie, Amami Rantaro/Hoshi Ryoma, Amami Rantaro/Oma Kokichi, Chabashira Tenko/Harukawa Maki, Chabashira Tenko/Yumeno Himiko, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Harukawa Maki/Shirogane Tsumugi, Harukawa Maki/Yonaga Angie, Iruma Miu/K1-B0, Iruma Miu/Yonaga Angie
Comments: 30
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

<| |>

It was dark, cramped, and uncomfortable... every muscle in the girl's body ached, and she felt something hard weighing down on her chest, making it even harder to breath in the dust-filled air. She was provided with a sense of warmth, however, an extreme sense of warmth, actually shifting even along with her own self...

Shifting? Moving? ...Breathing?

The realization hit Kaede like a truck as she jolted awake, nearly instantaneously as she felt the body beside her jump, too, and she could barely see anything in the dark, clouded location. This allowed panic to flow freely through her, and as she tried to back away, her back hit something close behind her, resounding in a metallic bang that signaled it's properties. The blonde attempted to escape a different way, but just plowed into yet another hard wall, and she realized she must've been in some sort of cage.

Interrupting Kaede's attempts at moving away was the thing that began spastically attempting escape beside her, multiple of it's limbs repeatedly spiking into Akamatsu, making her wince harshly. The constant hits on her form along with the anxiety running rampant in her mind led to agitation beginning to swell in her chest, and she used all her force to push the other being away, blurting out a stubborn exclamation.

"Hey, we're both trying to get out of here, and you're only making it harder on both of us to escape!!" Kaede shouted candidly, trying her hardest to glare over her shoulder as she fought to avoid being smacked against the tight box's sides again. Her words directed towards the other person she assumed trapped in there with her seemed to work, as the fellow captive stopped their aggressive battling, and Kaede herself let out a relieved sigh as she stopped pushing back against the other, now both of them nearly taking up equal space as she thought of what to do next.

"Okay, um... I guess we should tell each other our names, right? Just so we can address each other easier! I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist!!" The blonde tested carefully, then proceeding to offer up her name first with a sincere tone of voice, and hopefully calming down the both of them plus building a small sense of trust in the process. She could feel the body behind her stiffen slightly, which immediately gave off signs that maybe that hadn't been the right thing to do, but Kaede's worries were discouraged when a soft, velvety voice came from over her shoulder, a soft breath hitting the back of the lavender-eyed girl's neck, entailing that this person was facing her back.

"...I'm Maki Harukawa, Ultimate Child Caretaker." The hesitant female's voice murmured, wariness lacing her words as she gave her name, and despite the life-threatening situation, Kaede couldn't help but find the voice oddly adorable. The pianist brushed this thought aside, however, and focused on the fact that Maki was an Ultimate, too, which made her suspect that this might be some sort of a ransom situation.

"Oh, wow, we're both, Ultimates, what are the chances of that?!" Kaede exclaimed with a carefree tone, holding back her suspicion as to avoid unnerving the other girl even more. "Well, I'm going to try and turn around now to face you, Maki, so don't worry!!"

When she didn't receive a response or a protest, Kaede went ahead and started carefully shifting her body, doing her best not to bump the other girl who she assumed pressed herself against her side of the metal box, but brushing past her a few times all the same. Finally, after a few awkward moments of apologetic mumbles and dismissive grunts, the latter in a much quieter tone, the blonde fell into an even more uncomfortable situation.

"A-Ah..." Kaede's face was embarrassingly close to Maki's, although she was a little shorter than the blonde, and they both flushed quickly, although her own was a little bit brighter. She chuckled sheepishly as she tried to put as much room between them as she could, Harukawa doing a similar act, and she gave her fellow captive a reassuring smile. Now the blonde was able to get a good look of the owner of the attractive voice, who followed up with an even cuter source. Harukawa's bangs framed her soft round face perfectly, dark lashes and beauty mark making her complexion mysteriously alluring, and as the heroine's eyes drifted downward she saw an equally adorable school uniform with it's own charm.

"Well, this is a little... tighter than i expected, but don't worry!! We just have to figure out which side is the opening, and we can form a plan from there." Kaede declared optimistically when she saw Maki's skeptical scowl directed towards her, doing her best to suppress her blush, and the pressure from both of them combined pushed Akamatsu to act faster to get the both out, already feeling responsible for both of their safeties. But... she still didn't have an answer for how to break out of here, and as it settled in she herself began to panic once again, sweat slowly beading at her temple. What if they were stuck in here? What if they never got out? What if their captor came back- what if they died in here?!

Kaede was abruptly snapped out of her swirling thoughts of the worst possible outcomes by a sharp jab into her ribcage, to which she promptly yelped in pain as her head snapped up to glare at Maki with a hurt look.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Kaede demanded with an accusatory pout, arms now wrapped around her torso to protect it from further attacks, but Maki only clicked her tongue irritably and jerked her head toward the wall on her left, and the pianist's right.

"You didn't answer me when I called out to you, so I had to get you attention." Maki explained pointedly, and before Kaede could protest stubbornly, she continued on with the same brisk tone. "If you look closely, there are three slots to your right that have light spilling out of it, and I think it's most likely that this is the door to what we're stuck in, which I'm pretty sure is a locker."

"W-Woah, you figured out all of that? You're really smart!!" Kaede cried in surprise and admiration, eyes wide as she blinked rapidly, but her compliment went unappreciated as Maki disinterestedly ignored her, twisting her body to get a better look at the door, making another observation. "If we pound against the door enough, we might be able to bust it open, even if there's a lock on it."

Kaede nodded in understanding before turning to the door and inspecting it herself, now seeing the similarities between her trap and a school locker, and tested her weight on the steel barrier. It creaked slightly, but it didn't do much else otherwise, and she then pushed it with all her might- making no progress on the door, which didn't budge at all.

"It's not really moving at all, Maki-" Before Kaede could finish her sentence, a loud bang made her jump so hard she hit her head against the back of the locker, and yelped a complaint before seeing what had caused the jarring noise. A huge dent had been left in the locker's door and it seemed to pop open just slightly, another crash making an even bigger impact on the exit, which was all thanks to Harukawa exhibiting her astonishingly monstrous strength, making Akamatsu taken aback somewhat.

"What are you just standing around for?" Maki's harsh inquiry snapped Kaede out of her admiring and warily watching the round-faced female go to work, and the pianist's self appointed need to save them caused her to act without making a retort towards the other girl, joining the effort as she attempted to barrel into the door in sync with the brunette. After what felt like minutes, her own shoulder began to ache greatly, her lavender-eyes squeezing shut in a grimace each time she slammed herself into the door, but continued working harder and harder- especially since she noticed the shorter female beside her making double the headway she was.

Kaede wasn't prepared for when the wall abruptly gave way, sending her flying through the newly made doorway, and out of the corner of her vision she saw Maki had managed to save herself from the same fate that had befallen the blonde who'd tumbled out before her. A loud exclamation of vexation slipped out of mentioned girl's lips as she hit the floor with a resounding smack, mind going briefly numb with pain that increased she forced herself onto her back, groaning the entire time.

As her eyes slowly fluttered open from her momentary rest to regather herself, Kaede's eyes blurred by agony caught sight of a figure fazing in and out from the corner of her vision, the colors red and brown making it easy to identify them as Maki, who seemed to be standing over the pianist to check on her wellbeing. Not wanting to keep her companion waiting, the grounded girl forced herself to sit up despite her head splitting with a sharp pang, and chuckled embarrassedly as she rubbed her sore skull.

"Ahaha, probably should've expected that, but we got out!! Are you okay- gah!!" Kaede's original words of accomplishment were cut off with her own startled shout when Maki's arm shot out towards her, Akamatsu's muscles screaming in protest as she was yanked forward with the same extraordinary force she'd served witness to earlier. Her eyes which had been closed due to reflexively grimacing from the renewed sting coursing through her awareness, opened to stare incredulously at the fair-skinned teen, who was somehow effortlessly holding her up by the blonde's own vest collar.

"Wh-What are you-?!" Kaede attempted to offendedly question Maki, but the murderous glare the crimson-eyed girl gave her caused the word's to die in her throat, and as pure fear made her stomach churn, she used any excuse to break the intense eye contact with the twin-tailed female who happened to be a lot more dangerous than the helpless female had anticipated.

Now Kaede saw the classroom-aspects of her placement, the overgrown room and barbed-wired windows giving her a suspicion of this being some sort of seized school turned villain hideout, which enforced her immediate assumption she'd been kidnapped, although when trying to figure out what led to the possible kidnapping... she came up with nothing.

Nothing? No, not a single thing from when she'd last exited her house... it was just a hole in her memory, a frustrating barrier she couldn't work her way around. It was an abyss of recollection, and this important clue's absence in Kaede's mind left a bitter feeling on the back of her tongue. She forced herself to move away from the subject, however the reminder still weighed on her portrayed as the pit in her stomach.

Kaede continued to quickly view everything while she had the chance before she was forced to approach Maki once more, and during her wild search she spotted a locker directly across from where she was being held, the door hanging open with multiple gaping dents in the middle- the blonde discerned that this must've been what she was flung out of, adding to the school aesthetic around her.

So she was in some sort of school, maybe a criminal organization's headquarters... and Maki beside her woke up with her, probably kidnapped, too, but Harukawa still seemed to blame Kaede for their situation, which she thought was ridiculous since the other girl seemed ridiculously smart- she supposed paranoia might be the answer for that, and a plausible reasoning, too. Now that the pianist thought about it as she reluctantly looked back at the dark-lashed girl, she'd been tense the entire time, even moreso than the blonde that was in the same situation as her. So maybe she was just a bit shyer and more introverted than Akamatsu? The brunette was ridiculously strong, however, so that was hard to believe-

With a determined narrowing of her eyes, though, Kaede pushed these procrastinating explanations from her mind and focused on Maki, who strangely enough seemed to await the lavender-eyed female's reaction before possibly harming her, but the pianist would like to assume that the round-faced girl she'd oddly, yes, but still bonded with to escape their prison wouldn't do that.

"Maki, what's going on with you?! We're both Ultimates, remember, that means we were probably both captured to maybe sell off for a ransom!!" Kaede informed Maki with a clear and straight-forward tone, discarding her earlier fear as she glared disapprovingly down at the fellow school girl holding a bloodlust-filled face on her features, which didn't change even when Akamatsu resorted to pushing against the shorter person's form, who didn't budge whatsoever. "Geeze, just let me go!! I thought you were supposed to be a Child Caregiver, why are you being so aggressive?!"

After a few moments of struggling and whining, Maki relented with a nearly inaudible sigh, with a flick of her wrist sending Kaede skidding backwards into one of the desks lining the front of the classroom, and the newly freed protagonist would've crashed to the floor again if she hadn't managed to grab onto the piece of furniture before falling. Once the disoriented girl regained her composure, she looked up to see her partner in this hell of a situation stalking away without another word, most likely intending to leave the blonde behind in her dust.

This sight of Maki simply abandoning her filled Kaede with a wave of anger, her blood boiling as she hurriedly ran to catch up with the twin-tailed Ultimate, not going to let the pale girl get away with just knocking the pianist around like a ragdoll.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?! You haven't even apologized, and not to mention we should work together to get out of here!!" Kaede called after Maki resiliently, stomping after her quickly receding figure who's twin-tails trailed in the air after her, reaching out to grab her shoulder when she still hadn't responded.

In the blink of an eye, however, Kaede let out her second cry of pain that day when she felt a vice-like hold pierce into her arm, flinging her forward into one of the classroom's walls and keeping her there with an agonizing pressure, the foolishly trusting heroine's eyes prickling with tears as her arm that had been used to reach out was now bended behind her to the point of practically snapping off, it felt like. Her attacker's other hand, who she soon realized had to be Maki, was holding her shoulder, the cat-like girl's nails digging relentlessly into the blonde's skin, causing her to let out a tortured gasp.

While Kaede was rendered practically unable to breath, Maki's voice came out in a low hiss, her ruby-eyes practically glowing with a promise of death out of the corner of the wheezing captive's vision, and she had no choice but to take the banged-girl's words to heart this time.

"You're remarkably stupid, Kaede, and I'll give you a warning- the next time you trust someone blindly even when they give not-so-subtle hints of being a dangerous individual who wants to be left alone, you might not be so lucky." Maki then 'mercifully' let go of Akamatsu, who slid limply to the floor against the wall gasping for air, and she was hardly able to focus enough to see the heartless girl ghost out of her obscured vision-

Leaving Kaede alone in the classroom, body aching, and hope crushed as the only other person she had in this disastrous situation, the only ounce of comfort she could draw inspiration from, left her for dead.

<| |>


	2. A Harsh Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is being copy and pasted from my quotev published work, so keel that in mind!!

<| |>

Those shining ruby eyes, naturally pink cheeks, fair skin, dark lashes, soft voice, and...

"Her stupid, heartless personality!!" Kaede blurted out bitterly, eyes stinging with fresh tears as she still remained slumped on the wall near where she'd had her views and body besieged, her own limbs slowly recovering while she gritted her teeth, breathing heavily with fury. Her face was painted with resentment as her face twisted into a deep rooted glower, and with a frustrated shout she brought her fists down onto the tiled floor below her.

"...How can anyone be so cruel?" Kaede's voice came out in a dejected mumble, and she took a shaky sigh as she laid her head back on the wall, doing her best to calm the throbbing mess that was her downcast heart. She really didn't understand it, she really thought she could depend on Maki- maybe Akamatsu was naïve after all...

"No, I can't think like that!!" Kaede announced with a defiant shout, steeling herself as she brought her hands to bang the dismal thoughts away from her head, a stubborn spark of hope flaring to live in her resilient spirit. She couldn't just let that jerk Maki throw her down, especially since she wasn't even the person responsible for capturing the two of them, and the blonde promised to show Harukawa that she didn't need to be saved from this perilous situation- she could do it all on her own without that 'Child Caregiver'!!

At that thought, Kaede promptly snorted, not believing that was Maki's true talent for a heartbeat, especially considering the blatant show of power she held. But even if her talent wasn't the most useful, the pianist knew she could pull off plenty of thing's the crimson-eyed girl couldn't. Like have substantial relationships, be trusted, be respected, ever really be happy... okay, this was getting a little spiteful.

Kaede exhaled quietly as she forced her furthering anger back down, deciding that she might as well move on, as sitting on the ground of this overgrown school wasn't doing her any good. So with a grunt of protest, she heaved herself up onto her unsteady legs, taking a moment with her arm pressed against the wall, making sure she was physically ready to move on. After a few moments of flexing her sore muscles and getting them used to casual movement, the lavender-eyed girl nodded in confirmation upon getting around to a good pain tolerance, ready to embark on the next step of her adventure.

Kaede shuffled to the door not too far away from the spot she'd just gotten up from, one of it's sliding doors still an inch open from when Maki had exited before her. The thought of encountering the deadly female again along with whatever new dangers she might face caused a shudder to go down the blonde's spine, her eyes and lips pursing shut while she tried to ready herself, hands tightening into tight fists. Her body stood rigid before the threshold of another part of her challenge, and she could already feel a winding maze full of tragedy and perils being laid out before her, a strange sense of intuition she'd never had before. Akamatsu felt herself being deterred for a moment, a wave of anxiety washing over her, but the natural hope she carried so dear was able to blind her to all these things- temporarily, at least.

Kaede opened her eyes once again to peer out the sliding door, an optimistic and determined smile settling on her naturally pink lips, and with a grunt of finality she pulled back the rest of the door with an audible smack, heading out confidently into the unknown. Once crossing through, the pianist only spotted a bit of a school-like hallway, heavily overgrown with weeds and plant life, before a terrified shout to her left abruptly ended her investigation.

"A-Argh!!" A male voice wailed with a cracking voice, followed by a loud crash causing Kaede herself to jump and let out a yelp herself. Out of reflex and worry, she began to rush towards the noise without another thought, her lips parting to call out to the creator of the noise. As she rushed forward, though, coming closer into view of her destination, her lavender-eyes spotted a threat she hadn't wanted to face again so soon.

Maki, with all her deadly aura, was looming over a groaning blue-haired male, dressed in a dark striped school uniform and slumped against the wall he'd most likely just been thrown against, a hat laying upside down on his lap. Kaede choked on her words as she locked eyes once again with the brunette girl, both of them standing in a chilling silence for an agonizing heartbeat before Harukawa broke eye contact first, swiftly turning away and stalking further down the hallway. The blonde took a step towards the receding dark figure, knowing she needed to stop the other girl's dangerous behavior, but her threatening warning still echoed in Akamatsu's mind, deterring her from taking further action. She needed to check and confront the other victim of the crimson-eyed girl's assault, anyway, and check to see if was stuck in this mess, too.

"Ah, I'm sorry about Maki... I don't think she's the most sociable person in the world!!" Kaede joked with a hint of sarcasm as she turned to the boy, smiling at him as she held a hand for him to take, an offering of friendship and trust from the very beginning. "Do you need help getting up?"

The feminine-eyed male stared up with wide eyes at Kaede bending down over him, a kind smile on her face, and the wary fear he'd gained from the previous girl waned slightly as he gulped and took her hand, gulping anxiously in the process. Upon feeling his hand in her grasp, the cheery girl pulled him up heartily, holding him up by his shoulder as he stumbled a bit, giving him a reassuring smile before letting him stand on his own. He still seemed pretty anxious, and so the lavender-eyed female waited for him to calm his breathing, which she deemed to be after he bent down and hurriedly fixed his hat into place on his head.

"So, my name's Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, it's nice to meet you!! Are you an Ultimate kidnapped here, too?" Kaede asked with a tilt of her head, hands clasped before her as she attempted to make eye contact with the male in front of her, who's eyes were hidden under the brim of his hat. Upon noticing her actions, he just pursed his lips and averted his eyes further, tugging the tip farther down on his face as he hesitantly introduced himself.

"My name... is Shuichi Saihara, and I'm called the Ultimate Detective- although I don't have the credentials to be more than a detective, really." Shuichi mumbled humbly, shrinking in his place as he mentioned his talent, obviously not thinking much of it. Kaede frowned slightly at this discovery, shaking her head in dispute as she denied his dismissive words.

"Hey, don't say that, Shuichi, the fact that you got the title of Ultimate proves you're worthy of being proud!!" Kaede refuted with a bright grin, comforting words appearing to fluster Shuichi, but before he could argue the pianist moved onto the next topic. "So, that means you were probably kidnapped, too, then, right Mr. Detective? Do you have any idea where we are?"

Kaede's question was met with momentary silence as Shuichi held a finger to his lips, a few seconds passing before he shook his head and addressed her. "This must be some sort of holdup situation, where we'll probably be ransomed off to the government. Sadly... I don't have any clue where we're located, as well as how I got here." He discerned in an official manner, and even though Akamatsu thought the ransom situation was easy enough for everyone to figure out, she decided to hyperfocus on the second half of his statement.

"Wait, you don't remember that, either?! That's really weird, do you think they used some sort of drug or technology on us to remove that memory!!" Kaede suggested enthusiastically, only to be dismissed quickly by Shuichi, surprisingly enough.

"No, that doesn't sound right... that kind of technology hasn't been come up with yet, and I doubt an inventor could hide that sort of breakthrough." Shuichi refuted with a hand over his mouth, voice finally somewhat assertive, and this shot through Kaede's statement easily, her need for outside approval causing her to drop it as well. She hugged her arm and bit her lip embarrassedly, shifting her gaze to the side, leaving it at that- before someone swooped in to save her.

"Well, you shouldn't write it off that quickly- they could always have the help of an Ultimate." A raspy male voice interjected from behind the two Ultimates, who both jumped in fear and whipped around to face the source of the charming sound. Kaede immediately locked eyes with heavy-lashed opposing ones when she turned swiftly, visibly shocked and jaw dropping at the handsome male before her, gawking appreciatively with her usual shameless attitude. After inspecting him thoroughly with a practically paralyzed Shuichi beside her, the blonde deduced that the pretty boy with such a laid back and harmless expression was no threat, and easily let her extroverted personality shine through as she gave him a pearly-white grin.

"Woah- I didn't see you there!! Are you another Ultimate trapped here? My name's Kaede Akamatsu, by the way, I'm the Ultimate Pianist!" Kaede promptly introduced herself without an ounce of caution, which led Shuichi to panic in the background, stumbling to press himself against the wall while the more outgoing girl made a new, important bond. The green-haired male didn't seem fazed at all by her trusting nature, however, and took it in stride as he held his hand out for the lavender-eyed girl to shake -which she did, of course- and returned her greeting with a lopsided smile of his own.

"Huh, it's nice to meetcha, Kaede, and yeah, I was kidnapped, too. My name's Rantaro Amami, and I'm sure I'm an Ultimate, but..." Rantaro started off in an easy-going tone, his curly, wild green hair framing his unblemished skin nicely as his long lashes batted at Kaede, his hands thrown up in the air as he talked, his expression not changing whatsoever as he spoke. "I don't remember mine at the moment, but I swear I'm not a bad guy!!"

"Oh, so... you know you have one, but you can't remember it right now? That doesn't sound very reliable..." Shuichi commented skeptically from Kaede's shadow, his sapphire eyes trained on the other, more attractive male who was now interacting with them. Upon hearing this, however, the pianist in between the two boys promptly turned around and jabbed her companion with her elbow, sending him a disapproving glare as she shook her head at him before quickly turning back around to smile reassuringly at Rantaro.

"Don't worry about him, I understand!! We don't remember how we got here, so maybe that portion of your memory was erased instead!" Kaede proposed with a sweet smile, her hands clasped behind her back as she gave Rantaro the benefit of the doubt, and the mentioned student gave a thankful expression in response.

"Ah, thanks for that, Kaede, but I don't remember that either." Rantaro admitted with a weak chuckle, a light pink tinge painting itself on his sheepish features. Kaede stiffened when she heard a muffled sound from behind her, possibly Shuichi laughing at her expense, and she felt a bitter feeling bubbling in her chest before she turned with a firm smile with not speck of doubt on her features. She kept the same unchanging beam on here features as she took a step forward, going as far as to take Rantaro's hands in hers, determined to spite the detective's stubborn pessimism- for her own hope's sake.

"Don't worry, Rantaro, they probably just erased that bit accidentally while getting rid of everyone's memories- it'll turn up eventually, and I'm excited to find out what it is when that happens!!" Kaede chirped as she clasped her hands in front of her chest, and Rantaro responded to her kindness with an appreciative smile, seemingly not uncomfortable by the sudden skin contact. The moment was awkward, especially for strangers, and it was honestly a bit comical to see them be so friendly while Shuichi scowled uncomfortably, maybe a tad bit jealous even.

"You're really too nice, but I'll admit I'm a bit excited for that, too. I wonder what it will be..." Rantaro trailed off peacefully in thought, the two letting go of their hands once they deemed it necessarily, and he moved his hand onto his hip. Kaede gave happy little nod in response, obviously intrigued with his mystery talent as well.

"Yeah, it really does sound interesting- maybe it's something like survivor?" Kaede suggested at the blue, and as Rantaro gave her a curious look while Shuichi lifted his eyebrow skeptically, she quickly explained while gesturing to the green-haired male's shirt. "There's a compass on your shirt, and you look like you're about to go hiking, so I just thought it'd make sense!!"

"I don't think-" Shuichi started with pursed lips and a displeased tone, making Kaede shrivel up almost immediately, but Rantaro interrupted the other male quickly with an eager hand placed on the pianist's shoulder. "Wow, you're right, that does actually make a lot of sense!"

Kaede blinked in surprise at Rantaro's support, her mouth opening in a small 'o' as she tilted her head towards the pierced boy. She felt her confidence skyrocket quickly just from a simple word of encouragement, and her lips originally tilted downwards formed a glowing grin.

"Oh, really? I-I just guessed, but would you like that if it was your talent? I think it sounds pretty cool!!" Kaede chimed with renewed vigor, holding up a finger as her words became more fluid. Rantaro smiled whole-heartedly with a nod of affirmation, a glint of unregistered emotion flashing in his eyes as he pondered the thought.

"That's purely coincidental, you shouldn't go off of only that..." Shuichi cut in with maybe even slight irritation, to which Kaede winced once more and turned to look at the other boy with a sorry expression. Rantaro's click of the tongue drew the two's attention back to him, though, as he shook his head and put his hands on his hips.

"I dunno, since Kaede at least has an outfit based off her talent, it might be a clue- plus, I always enjoyed traveling, although it became less of a hobby and more of mission." Rantaro mused a loud, seemingly zoning out with a sad, melancholy aura. Unsure of what he meant, but still feeling a sharp pain in her chest at the male's plight, Kaede softly smiled and took a step forward with a hand on her heart.

"Well, if that's it, then at least it's a talent you can get behind- do you remember all the places you've been?" Kaede asked enthusiastically, leaning forward with good-intentioned interest as she raised an inquisitive finger. At her cheerful attitude, Rantaro let out a raspy chuckle while scratching the back of his head, which turned sheepish as he spotted Shuichi's impatient scowl over the pianist's shoulder. "Yeah, I can name them, I remember that at least- but I think it'd be best if you got moving and met the other thirteen Ultimates."

Kaede blinked in surprise at his response, slight confusion crossing over an otherwise serene face before flinching backwards with a potentially overdramatic shout. Even Shuichi dropped his pessimistic expression from behind her, giving a voice-cracking 'what' of surprise, before quickly delving back into his sour demeanor, possibly launching into speculation at the credibility of Rantaro's statement. "What- there are sixteen Ultimates, all in this building?!"

Kaede exclaimed with wide-eyes, mouth hanging open in a shocked gape. Rantaro nodded in affirmative, a glint of amusement in his eyes as he kept his casual smile. "That's right, I've went ahead and met them already, but there are some outside, too."

"W-We can go outside??" Kaede stuttered with another wave of awe overtaking her, so taken aback she'd even started to sweat slightly. Once again, Rantaro confirmed her question with a tilt of his head, but this time it was a bit sluggish with seriousness.

"Yep, but while there is a good space of outdoors, we're stuck in a confined space with a huge cage over this building- which looks like it's an academy." Rantaro explained with a gruff, but reassuring voice, and while she had calmed down a bit, Kaede retained that jittery feeling of fragile adrenaline.

"Either way, that helps us have a better chance of figuring out where we are, and at least we aren't all clustered together. It was great meeting you, Rantaro, you'll learn your talent soon, I promise- I'll see you around!!" Kaede initially took Rantaro's hands in hers at first, eyes shining with gratitude as she shook them before letting go and continuing down the hall, waving at his receding figure with a glimmering grin.

"Ahaha, thanks, Kaede, I can't wait!" Rantaro replied with another laugh, giving a limp wave and a fond smile, before he eventually slid out of view. As Kaede ran, however, a sudden realization that she'd forgotten something, or someone, hit her like a truck. With a guilty jolt, she spun around to look for her companion, only to jump even more at Shuichi's face inches away from hers.

"A-Ah, Shuichi-!! Sorry, I got so excited, I didn't meant to leave you..." Kaede apologized quickly with a guilty giggle, taking a step backward and putting her hands up before her. Shuichi's glower was hidden underneath the brim of his hat, which he tugged lower over his pale face as he let out a curt huff.

"I-It's fine, can we just get a move on?" Shuichi asked with exasperation dripping from his words, and with her trade-mark people pleaser smile, Kaede nodded her head vigorously before she began to parade down the hall. As they moved, a stifling silence fell upon them, which the blonde quickly moved to fill.

"So, Shuichi, what did you think of Rantaro? Although he doesn't know his talent, he seems like a pretty sincere and nice guy to me!!" Kaede chimed with a tilt of her head, ending her sentence with an amiable blink in Shuichi's direction. The mentioned male pursed his lips and kept his eyes on the ground, not completely meeting the lavender-eyed girl's pace, seemingly intentionally.

"He's... very strange." Shuichi started out first with maybe the attempt at being pleasant about it, but quickly gave way into what he wanted to say. "I honestly can't trust a word he says, I don't believe he actually can't remember his talent, and I have a suspicion he's heavily involved in all of this."

"Wh-What, that's really what you think of him??" Kaede yelped in apprehension, to which Shuichi gave a dull glower in her direction. She bit her lip and deflated a bit, folding her arms under her chest and directing her gaze to the floor as the detective began to chew her out.

"You asked what I thought, right? I'm just making logical conclusions about what I saw about him, and I'm not being gullible about it." Shuichi remarked pointedly, and as a cold shiver washed over Kaede, she couldn't help but be reminded of Maki.

"S-Sorry, you're right, it makes sense... I guess." Kaede mumbled with a whiny-tinge to the tone, rubbing her arms with a downhearted exhale. Shuichi didn't make another sound except for a small, smug grunt, and they carried on in silence. As they walked, Kaede began mulling over the events that had taken place with pursed lips.

Kaede didn't particularly dislike anyone strongly except Maki, and she still felt there was more to the icy girl, but she was still infuriated that the brunette had nearly dislocated the pianist's arm. She was pretty, sure, but her personality was definitely off putting, and while her steel walls were intriguing to break down, Akamatsu wasn't particularly interested on putting her life at risk by attempting to do so. It wasn't even like the girl had only attacked the blonde, as she'd nearly broken Shuichi's.

Which brings Kaede to the dark-haired boy, who'd initially seemed pretty shy and quiet, someone she wouldn't mind helping out of their shell. Shuichi had begun to be a bit sharp with her, and a pessimistic soul- which apposed her mindset greatly. It wasn't like that definitively caused the girl to dislike him, of course, and she fully intended on being friends with the detective, despite his hostility directed towards her. Once again, Saihara wasn't only directing his distaste towards the lavender-eyed girl, as he also was severely skeptical towards Rantaro.

Kaede honestly couldn't get why Shuichi distrusted Rantaro- sure, the green-haired male's situation was unfortunate and it was odd he couldn't remember his talent, but it would make sense if there was just a small mistake made in the memory removal. It was probably a difficult and elaborate process after all!! Plus, he just seemed so earnest and kind, just as he said, not a bad guy at all. She could see herself being good friends with the boy, and thought of him positively.

Kaede gave another sigh, a bit lighter this time, as she finished processing the recent events that had spiraled in just a small block of time. She'd already met three interesting characters she was struggling to form opinions on, and apparently there were twelve others she had yet to meet once she'd counted herself, Shuichi, Rantaro, and...

"Maki...!!" Automatically a panic settled into Kaede, and both her and Shuichi froze in terror as a familiar twin-tailed assailant came into view.

<| |>


	3. The Ultimate Students

<| |>

This... really needs to stop happening. That icy glare freezing Kaede's bloodstream, twisting her stomach into a knot of dread, and the air coming to a brief stop in her throat, making her choke on the words she intended to say. She just kept popping up, like some phantom haunting her or something!!

The aforementioned female didn't seem too joyed to see Kaede either, but it wasn't a significant change of expression for her permanently cold features that soured ever so slightly once she heard her name uttered from the pianist's lips. That murderous red gaze flickered over for a moment to hit Shuichi, too, but as the detective stiffened, Akamatsu moved to stand protectively in front of him.

"What do you want, Maki?! Why do you keep following us?" Kaede accused with a finger raised at the brunette, who let out a coarse sounding snort that held a bitter tone of amusement. From behind, Shuichi sighed and shook his head at the blonde, voice lowered cautiously for only her hears to catch.

"She's the one in front of us... so technically we're the ones following her." Kaede's cheeks flushed with embarrassment at Shuichi's words and she gave him a glum frown, cheeks puffed out somewhat in a pout. "Come on, you could at least try to back me up...!!"

In the midst of the pair's quarrel, Maki lost her brief crack in her icy mask and was now glaring daggers into the two of them, instantly snapping them out of their conversation. "Stop messing around, this isn't a playground for you toddlers to waddle around in. I'm investigating, because I have some common sense to want to take note of my surroundings and the people in it."

"Th-That's what we're doing. too!!" Kaede spluttered awkwardly in a meek attempt of defense, but Maki was already gone, whisking away down the hall like an malevolent being of the night. Choking on her next objection in a flustered manner of apprehension, the pianist finally sighed in defeat as Shuichi gave her an awkward pat, a sorry way of showing his shabby sympathy.

"Geeze, what is wrong with her?!" Kaede exclaimed with her eyes shut tightly in agitation, a throbbing headache slowly forming behind her temple as her hands gripped her knees tightly. "She's just so, so...!!"

"So cool!!" An unexpected voice from a feminine source finished Kaede's sentence for her, and she let out a gasp as she took a startled step back into Shuichi, who let out a strangled protest while he just managed to catch both of them from falling. The speaker seemed to be a glasses-wearing girl with a reasonably fair complexion and lapis blue hair that curled ever so slightly as it came to rest at the small of her back. She wore a navy skirt that brushed her simple black dress shoes with a navy, bejeweled jacket with what seemed like an orange tie with a white undershirt underneath. Upon noticing the blonde's and the detective's reactions, the newcomer chuckled sheepishly and put a hand under her chin as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, my plainness tends to blend in well : My name is Tsumugi Shirogane, The Ultimate Cosplayer, although I might not seem to suit such a flashy Ultimate." Tsumugi introduced herself with a small smile, although there was a flash of self doubt in her sapphire-like eyes that Kaede caught and noted, Shuichi being skeptical as per usual.

"Oh no, I think you stand out quite a bit, you're really beautiful!!" Kaede quickly assures with a bright smile at the hint of self deprecation Tsumugi mentioned, blinking at her admiringly with hands clasped in front of her. The bespectacled girl jolted a bit in surprise and a brief flash of color appeared on her cheeks, not expecting the positive reinforcement from a stranger. "Oh, um, thank you very much! I mean, you're really pretty, you sort of look like a pretty daisy!!"

"A-Ah, thank you!!" Kaede feels her own face heat up and she giggles in a flustered nature, clasping her hands behind her back while she gave another sweet smile. "I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. It's nice to meet you!!"

"...Shuichi Saihara, Ultimate Detective." Shuichi muttered from behind Kaede, gloomily looking off to the side and refusing to meet Tsumugi in the eye until he suddenly turns a sharp gaze onto her from underneath the shadow of his hat. "Do you remember how you got here and are you aware of what's going on?"

Both Kaede and Tsumugi jumped at Shuichi's sudden accusatory tone, and while the lavender-eyed girl gave the boy detective a scolding look, the cosplayer quickly recovered to give him an apologetic answer.

"Sadly, I have no clue, all I know is that I woke up in a classroom with a boy that had a very playboy-like appearance who turned out to be quite the gentleman when he helped me refrain from panicking. We decided to go around and explore a bit, although it seems you two are a little late to waking up." Tsumugi explained with lidded eyes as she seemed to stifle a sigh, before perking up suddenly. "Oh, Maki just passed me so I guess she must've been with you guys, too!!"

"Err, yeah, she was with me." Kaede admitted reluctantly, holding a hesitant pointer finger in the air while an uncertain bead of sweat formed on her temple. Shuichi sent the girl an uncharacteristic look of sympathy before Tsumugi suddenly took Akamatsu's hands in hers, her sapphires glimmering once again with excitement.

"Maki is so cool isn't she, she just has that important aura about her, right?! We spoke for a little, and she totally seems like the stoic clan avenger type, right?! She might just go and train under a deceptive snake body-stealer to get revenge against her traitor brother!!" Tsumugi rambled all in one breath, drawing a couple breaths as she waited for Kaede's answer, who frankly didn't understand any of the other's comparisons.

"I uh, I guess?" Kaede replied after a butchered attempt to form an adequate response, but Tsumugi didn't seem to mind as she gave a happy sigh and retracted back to wipe an unnoticed glob of drool from her chin. Shuichi apparently did, however, as he suddenly put his hands on the blonde's shoulders and began to steer them both away from Shirogane.

"Sorry, Tsumugi, we need to be going. There are eleven other Ultimate students for us to meet." Shuichi informed her curtly, the last bit somewhat pointedly directed at Kaede as she shrank pitifully in the boy's grip, sending an apologetic look at the other girl. "Y-Yeah, that's right, it was really nice meeting you, though!!"

"Oh, I understand, don't feel bad for a plain girl like me. I wish you luck with first impressions!! The others are..." Tsumugi paused for a minute, a dreary look enveloping her features as she gave a faint laugh. "Really quite a colorful cast of characters."

Before Kaede could respond to that, Shuichi was already dragging her off, Tsumugi's soft voice calling goodbyes after them as they quickly moved down the hallway, the dark-haired male's fingers still digging into her white sleeves. Even if she understood his point, the pianist could still feel frustration building in her chest, upset that her conversation had been so rudely cut off. Still, she drew in a deep breath and attempted to speak to him, determined to befriend and open the reclusive detective up.

"So... what do you think of her? Tsumugi, I mean?" Kaede asked as she looked back at Shuichi with a strained smile, his expression sour as he continued soldiering forward. His charcoal eyes flickered to meet hers for a heartbeat before becoming trained on what's ahead of him once again, looking disinterested at the topic of Tsumugi. "She's insignificant."

"H-Hey, what do you mean?! I thought she was really nice and interesting!!" Kaede was visibly taken aback with shock at Shuichi's bluntly demeaning statement directed toward Tsumugi, and jumped to defend her. She honestly really enjoyed the cosplayer's company, and completely intended in seeking her out for company later, not to mention boost the lack of self esteem she briefly caught a look at.

Shuichi didn't respond and simply kept walking, much to Kaede's dismay ; however, she gave in and let him push her along until her eyes caught on a door decorated like piano keys, music notes dancing along the top of it. Her heavy heart swiftly flew up in her chest, her mind infested with thoughts about venting her feelings toward the one thing she was actually useful for, and she dug her heels into the ground to stop them both, the detective stumbling into a moment before he pulled back in irritation paired with confusion. "Wh-What the hell did you do that for-?!"

"Shuichi, look, it must be a music room!! Maybe they have a piano, why don't we check it out?" Kaede whirls around to inform Shuichi ecstatically, clapping her hands and giving a bright giggle at the thought of playing her worries away on what most of her life was based on. Surely he would understand how much it means to her and the detour wouldn't matter as much!! At least, that was what she was expecting.

"A music room? No way, the only thing that'll get us is sidetracked, are you stupid?" Kaede flinched back at the surprisingly scathing words from Shuichi, a small gasp emitting from her throat at the unexpected response. His words shook her confidence to its very core, and she bit her lip as her eyes shot to the ground. What she wanted to say was that it was always a good idea to check everywhere, and that maybe it would be a good idea to recharge in such a stressful situation, but her people pleasing self meekly kept her mouth shut.

Shuichi spared another glance at her before clicking his tongue and going to clutch Kaede's arm again, intending on dragging her along to the next place he deemed important, when the doors that had gone unnoticed beside them swung open, and the detective disappeared from her sight.

"G-Gahh!!" Kaede let out a distressed shout as she stumbled backwards, tripping over herself in fright and landing on her bottom. The pain from her palms scratched by the rocky content of the ground beneath her went unnoticed as her heart pounded in her chest painfully, eyes wide and staring at the scene in front of her.

"G-Get off of me!!" Shuichi gasped out in what was supposed to be an assertive voice, but just came out a cracked squeak as he writhed underneath another girl with long, greyish green twin tails with a purple headband, a white star to the right of it. A strange, white-flower decorated green pinwheel bow held all of her hair together, and her peridot eyes burned with rage as she pinned the detective down ; her sky blue skirt and crop top with a big white blow in the crook of her collar were wrinkled, and her white thigh-high socks began to slip somewhat, but she didn't hesitate to tighten her grip on his arm, dangerously close to dislocating the limb. "Shut up, you degenerate male!! You're lucky Tenko's risking her strength to even breath the same air as you right now!!"

"Shuichi!!" Kaede exclaimed, quickly getting back up with a face fraught with worry as she warily took a step towards the girl angrily glaring down at Shuichi with disgust. Unexpectedly, though, the long-lashed female's head shot back up to beam happily at the blonde, cheeks lightly dusted with a proud pink. Despite the situation, she really resembled an excited little girl showing her newest drawing to be put on the fridge ; however, this wasn't a child, this was a threatening individual who had Akamatsu's companion in a dangerous position, even if that was hard to remember.

"Oh, don't worry!! Tenko has this nasty boy under control, just give her the word and Tenko'll take care of him for good!!" The girl, apparently known as Tenko, assured Kaede with a close-eyed smile, and for a moment she felt a fuzzy warmth spread through her as she felt herself involuntarily smile at the other's cuteness. The twin-tailed girl just appeared like a sun ray, her presence melting away the pianist's burdens for a heartbeat as she just took in what the other's aura seemingly generated naturally ; however, Akamatsu was quickly snapped out of it as Shuichi let out another strangled cry, nervous sweat dripping down his temple as his attacker pulled back his arm further.

"A-Ah, could you please let him go? He doesn't mean any harm, I promise!!" Kaede shakily pleaded as she crouched next to Tenko, a sweet smile gracing her lips as she gestured towards Shuichi, who glared pitifully up at her but kept his mouth shut. The green-haired girl blinked at the other girl in confusion as she tilted her head, eyebrows furrowing questioningly at her.

"Huh? But Tenko swore she heard this worthless scum verbally abusing you, so Tenko should at least get to cut off his tongue for it!!" Tenko objected with somewhat of a pouting tone, although she lowered her grip on Shuichi's arm, much to both his and Kaede's relief. The lavender-eyed girl felt her smile falter, however, at the idea of the detective's words, and had to admit they had been uncalled for. Still, the situation was stressful, and he did seem like the pessimistic type, so he was surely just under pressure : it only made sense that nerves would be high and he'd lash out in a situation like this. Yeah, so don't take offense to it!!

"He was probably just worried about how much time we had, if we have a time limit. This is a scary situation, so it makes sense some things might slip that wouldn't normally!!" Kaede reasoned softly, putting a tentative hand on Tenko's shoulder, whose face burned pink at the touch. She looked conflicted for a moment, slightly tanned face from hours out in the sun screwing up in thought as she avoided eye contact. Finally, she groaned and hopped off of Shuichi, who scrambled behind Akamatsu to rub his aching arm. "Fine, Tenko was at risk of losing power by being that close to a degenerate like him anyway!!"

"Th-Thank you... Tenko, right?" Kaede asked cautiously, slowly straightening back up and sending Shuichi a worried look from behind her shoulder. He looked up at her, only one gloomy eye showing from under the brim of his hat, but he seemed less... hostile then he had been since the two had met, maybe even thankful?

"Yes, Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Aikido Master, hai-yah!!" Tenko demonstrates a swift kick to the air, sending a wave of air to momentarily blow back Kaede's hair and nearly making Shuichi's hat fly off : the blue-haired boy gulps anxiously, inwardly questioning why he kept getting attacked by deadly females.

"W-Wow, so cool!!" Kaede exclaimed in awe, lips forming a small oval as she clasped her hands together in front of her. Uncertainty soured her features, however, as she rubbed her arm, the smile on her lips not quite reaching her eyes. "My name's Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, although it's nothing like your talent... it's nice to meet you!!"

"Tenko's cool?! No way, Tenko's nothing compared to a cute performer like you, she'd give anything to be like Kaede!!" Tenko protested hastily, face turning tomato red as she toyed with the bell on her choker, and Kaede's own face quickly flushed at the other's words, her chest quickly feeling much lighter than before.

"Hey, I think a strong and pretty girl like you is amazing, so let's just... say we're both great!!" Kaede compromised with a clap of her hands, feeling slightly uncomfortable with boosting herself up like that, but held her hands out to Tenko nonetheless. The green-eyed girl kept her tinted cheeks as she looked down in surprise at the blonde's outstretched hands, eyes widening before she hesitantly took them.

"Alright, if you say so, Kaede- gahh, Tenko can't believe she's holding a super cute girl's hands!!" Tenko squealed with an ecstatic jump, and Kaede stiffened in shock before she felt her heart leap in her chest, face burning intensely as she fought the urge to cup her cheeks. Words delayed as they caught in her throat awkwardly, the pianist didn't get a chance to properly respond as a nasally voice interrupted her.

"Nyeh, don't be so loud, it's annoying..." A girl short in stature stood by the same doors Tenko had crashed through mere moments before, wearing weird light brown elfish boots with brown leggings, a red skirt, and a brown button up with a black jacket over it. She had short, straight red hair and brown eyes, on top of it all wearing a black witch hat. She wore a tired, over it look as she scowled at the three, hands tugging down her hat further over her head.

"O-Oh, Tenko is sorry, she'll be quieter!!" Kaede blinked in surprise when Tenko jumped away from her, frantically clasping her hands in front of her as she apologized with wide eyes to this new girl. It looked like they knew each other, and the green-haired female seemed to care very much about this red-head's opinion. Just as the pianist thought that, the girl turned her head towards her and gave a dull side-eyed glare to Chabashira, huffing before yawning exasperatedly.

"Whatever, it'd take too much mana to silence you properly anyway." The brown-eyed girl dismissed Tenko, who nodded her head obediently and fell in to hover anxiously beside her, eyes fixated almost dreamily on the smaller female. The baby-faced teenager turned her head to eye Kaede and Shuichi warily, hands balled into fists as she seemed to make a half assed attempt to raise her voice threateningly. "Who goes there?! Hurry up and state your intentions before I banish you forever!!"

"Huh?" Kaede's lips formed a small circle as she stared in confusion at the girl in front of her, looking to Shuichi for an answer to just give a shrug, his eyes scornfully narrowed at the red-haired female. For once, he surprisingly put a hand on her shoulder, which made her face heat up for some odd reason, and took the lead. "I'm Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. State who you are and whatever you know about this situation."

"And I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, i-it's nice to meet you!!" Kaede scrambled to respond after Shuichi before looking at him with awe in her eyes, impressed with the cold cut words he was able to do despite their anxiety-inducing situation about not knowing who you're talking to : he was able to get to the point, and she couldn't help but admire him for it.

"Hey, don't talk to Himiko like that, you degenerate male!!" Tenko barked, leaping to defend the girl apparently known as Himiko as she held her arms out in an offensive pose. Himiko quickly jabbed her in the stomach however, glaring daggers at her as her slurred words came out of her mouth. "Shut up, your voice is annoying."

"O-Oh, Tenko is sorry, she'll shut up!!" Tenko yelped automatically, nervously sweating as she slunk back to stay protectively beside Himiko, who seemed content with this reaction. Kaede, however, felt her face go hot with anger as her face twisted into an agitated frown, taking a loud step forward. She really didn't approve of the way this girl treated the Aikido Master, who only seemed to think positively of her, albeit coming on as a little overbearing.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that, even if you're stressed like the rest of us, you have no right to put her down like that!!" Kaede protested with furrowed eyebrows, voice raised with emotion as she pointed an accusatory finger at Himiko. She flinched back faster then the blonde had seen her move before, and pulled her hat down to almost hide behind, Tenko herself conflicted as she instinctively reached out to put her hands on her small shoulders. "W-Wait, Kaede, T-Tenko doesn't mind, she's probably really annoying anyway, so-!!"

"No, it's not okay, Tenko, you're an amazing human being that I'm glad I know already!!" Kaede asserted, pumping her fists in the air as she stubbornly met Tenko's eyes, Himiko shifting uncomfortably in her grasp. Her little head perked up to give a half-lidded stare of suspicion at the lavender-eyed girl as her slouching figure wriggled out of Chabashia's grasp.

"Nyeh, do you... bat for the other team or something, is that why you're acting so weird?" Himiko darkly accused with a disgusted glint in her eyes, and Tenko visibly jolted behind her as if called to attention herself, distress in her gaze mingled with mild interest while she watched Kaede intently. The mentioned female's cheeks grew pink but she stood her ground and bristled, clenching her fists at her sides.

"So what if I am?" Kaede challenged, her strong vocals echoing in the sudden silence of the overgrown hallway, and Himiko made no other response except to lower her head to quietly grunt in indignation. Tenko's gaze was stuck on the pianist with a starstruck adoration, one hand on her chest as her mouth was left hanging open. This emotional pause was interrupted finally as Shuichi cleared his throat, softly stepping up to stand by his blonde companion with a business-like demeanor. "Like I said before, I'd like you to state your name and what you know about what's going on."

"...Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Magician officially, but I'm really a mage." Himiko defeatedly muttered after a moment of hesitation, gaze still glued to the floor. Tenko awkwardly patted the girl's back sympathetically, although her smile was strained as she looked down at the other. "Aww, you didn't say it in a cool introduction this time, Tenko really liked that!!"

"Nyeh, they don't deserve it." Was Himiko's only sour response as she huffed and turned lazily on her heel, dragging her feet back into the cafeteria while Tenko stood stiffly, biting her lip as she struggled to come to a decision. Shuichi sighed, tugging his hat lower as he frowned deeply, shaking his head. "She didn't answer my other question."

"H-Himiko doesn't know anything about what's going on, she's really scared and distrusting of others right now!!" Tenko suddenly blurted out, stumbling forwards as she waved her arms anxiously in Himiko's defense. Kaede blinked in surprise while Shuichi raised an interested eyebrow at the girl, almost as if urging her to continue. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she averted her gaze, tension radiating off of the girl as she shuffled her feet in a jittery matter. "She told T-Tenko, through aura and words!!"

"Aura?" Shuichi questioned skeptically, pale hand over his mouth, and Tenko lowered her body at his voice. She glowered as she fiddled with her fingers scoffing before providing a reluctant explanation. "Tenko's training requires her to be in tune with emotions heavily, so she's really able to pick up on personalities like that!! Like, how she totally knows you're a gross, dirty, perverted degenerate-!!"

"W-We believe you, Tenko!!" Kaede interrupts just about as Tenko was about to go into a tangent, sending the offended looking Shuichi an apologetic glance before focusing back on the other girl. She smiled warmly and placed her hands on the Aikido Master's shoulders, the female flushing instantly upon contact. "It's nice to meet you, Tenko, stay safe!"

"Yeah, Tenko really likes Kaede, she'll see you later!!" Tenko gave a small, bashful little wave as she beamed at Kaede and gave an obligatory grimaced nod towards Shuichi before heading her own way, scurrying back into the cafeteria to probably console Himiko, the remaining two teenagers inferred.

Watching her go, Kaede felt an unsettled feeling worming around it's way in her stomach, a small frown marring her features as she crossed her arms. She didn't know how she felt about Tenko and Himiko together, there was just something that left a bad taste on her tongue when it came to the pair, but separately...

"So... how about those two?" Kaede asked sheepishly as both she and Shuichi continued their walk down the corridor, and now it felt weird for it to just be the two of them : it was so much quieter, but comforting in a way. It was like he was her rock.

"Tenko is unbelievably childish, but I don't think she's a threat." Shuichi began, and Kaede thought she almost saw him shutter a bit at the thought of Tenko, which she supposed made sense since the female had pinned him down quite painfully : the pianist knew how much that hurt, to be pressed against a cold, rocky surface. "Himiko just aggravates me, she's even more of a small-minded individual, at least Tenko sort of understood the importance of the situation."

"I really liked Tenko!! She's a little brash, but her heart is definitely in the right place." Kaede voiced her own opinions, not letting herself get caught up on Shuichi's harsh way of speaking, concluding it was just how he spoke. She really enjoyed Tenko, she was a really cute girl with a big heart and seemed like someone who the blonde would really enjoy spending time with.

"Himiko on the other hand..." Kaede winced as she held a finger to her face, not sure if she should say all the things she felt about Himiko. The girl deeply infuriated Akamatsu, and her question towards her really came off as homophobic, which she disapproved of greatly. Kaede was pretty sure Tenko was gay, it was obvious at this point, and that the girl had gained some sort of puppy crush she guessed on Himiko, which wouldn't work out well at all with that suspicion of disgust she'd shown towards the thought of liking girls. Already, their dynamic seemed strained and toxic, and that really worried her.

"I think she's just a little tense about the situation and is becoming defensive, which makes sense." Kaede finally stated, those words being the harshest she could mustered as she tucked a strand of hair behind her hair. There were of course people she wouldn't agree with, but Himiko wasn't that bad, and surely no one could be so awful she'd be unable to get along with, right...?

"Kaede, watch out-!!" Shuichi's panicked warning came too late as Kaede turned toward him in confusion, opening her mouth to speak before all the air was knocked out of her when something tackled her in chest. Her head hit the floor after being knocked off her feet, vision blurring for a moment as she struggled to get up, the weight on her body preventing her from doing so.

"What...?" Kaede murmured out, blinking repeatedly as a white, black, and purple figure began to form on top of her. A mischievous cackle made discomfort stir in her chest as she strained to look up at whatever had attacked her, only to be faced with a ghastly grin that sent chills down her spine.

"Nishishishi, looks like you've fallen for me, Goldilocks~!!"

<| |>


	4. Exploring the Prison Academy

<| |>

Devious purple eyes filled with glee stared down at Kaede, snickers flooding out of her attacker's mouth as panic coursed through her, unable to move anything but her neck even if this boy was very small. His skin was ghostly pale, almost as if he hardly saw the sun, and it blended in well with his white pants and what looked like a straight-jacket fashioned into a wearable piece of clothing.

He just seemed like a ghost almost, a small little devil with a checkered bandanna and a few colorful pins on his jacket. His purple bouncy hair tickled Kaede's nose as his childish demeanor lowered her guard, and even if she tried to push him off now she wouldn't want to hurt him, even if he was threat : subconsciously, she just worried about the other before herself.

"G-Get off of her!!" Luckily, Shuichi with his apathetic ways ran at the boy in an effort to save Kaede, although he wasn't the most athletic so his sloppy attempt was easily dodged by the grinning, smaller boy, who took a few steps back to smugly stand by the classroom door he'd leaped out of.

"Haha, you're too slow!!" The boy mocked in a trademark phrase, a mischievous finger held to his lips as his eyes scanned over Shuichi and Kaede piercingly, his smiling face an impenetrable mask that the detective seemed to be very focused on ripping off.

"Kaede." Shuichi seemed to resist the urge, however, and called Kaede to attention as he reached his hand out to her, his expression steely but somewhat mixed with an unexpected look of concern. She blinked at him in surprise for a moment before giving a shaky smile of appreciation, taking his hand and stumbling to her feet before he quickly let go, although he put a wary hand on her shoulder to stabilize her, just in case.

"Aww, look at the lovey-dovey couple!!" The boy's teasing voice called once Kaede was back on her feet, and while she flushed in embarrassment, Shuichi gave him an unfazed glare, grip tightening on the girl's shoulder as he took a step forward. "State your name and what you know about this situation."

"Ohhh, who I am, eh? To ask something so personal, you're really bold emo boy!!" The purple-haired menace exclaimed with obvious fake shock, but didn't seem to mind as he quickly switched to grin haughtily and lift his arms in the air.

"Well, mortals, bow down and praise your handsome god, Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, and I'm in charge of a super secret organization with over 10,000 members!!" The male, now known as Kokichi announced proudly, a smirk painting itself on his features as the other two reacted accordingly. Kaede's lips formed a surprised circle as she stared in intimidation and awe at the small boy, whose grin seemed to grow at her expression. Shuichi, on the other hand, held onto his usual skeptical views but doubled as he narrowed his eyes at the other.

"The Ultimate Supreme Leader, with such a big secret organization? I've never heard record of such a big group, if that really existed, I'm sure I would've heard of it." Shuichi refuted with a tug of his hat, and Kokichi responded with a childish pout and balled his fists out in front of him. "Whaaat? Does Shuichi not believe me? It's a secret underground group for a reason, dummy head!! Who are you to doubt me anyway?!"

"I'm Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. Now, answer my second question." Shuichi ordered icily, eyes cold from behind the brim of his hat, and Kokichi promptly snorted as he put his arms casually behind his back, flashing an unimpressed sneer his way.

"Alright, alriiight. I just woke up in a locker in that classroom there with a robot!! Pretty cool right?! Although, I am a liar~!!" Kokichi punctuated the end of his dialogue with a devilish wink, leading Shuichi to groan exasperatedly as the other boy giggled with amusement. "Now he's practically made it clear we shouldn't trust anything he says."

"Well, I dunno, they say there's truth in every lie, so maybe... he has like ten members in his group and he just woke up with a non emotional person?" Kaede cut in, uncertainly speaking her own opinion as Shuichi rolled his eyes at her, obviously not buying it and maybe even irritated she'd disagreed with him : however, Kokichi perked up for a moment as he truly took in the blonde for the first time, eyes glinting with interest as he tilted his head towards her. "Oh, and who're you, Goldilocks?"

"A-Ah, I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, it's nice to meet you!!" Kaede gave a rushed bow of her head, smile a little strained as she intertwined her hands behind her back. Kokichi's smile for once seemed to reach his eyes as he put his hands on his hips and nodded with a chuckle at her. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, too, Kaede!! And oh, I wasn't exaggerating about the robot part, he really isn't human!!"

"Kokichi, are you still making robophobic remarks?! I'll have you know I've recorded everything you said and if you continue I'll file it for harassment!!" Suddenly, an accusation came from the classroom behind Kokichi, and, low and behold, a metallic boy with white hair and an almost antenna like hair sticking out of his head with piercing blue eyes came marching out to give the Ultimate Supreme Leader a disapproving frown, although making sure to keep a few feet of distance from him while he did so.

"He was telling the truth?!" Kaede gasped, taking an apprehensive step back as Shuichi gaped in surprise beside her, both of them finding it hard to believe an actual robot was standing in front of them, coming off as oddly human. The cyber blue-eyed boy, or at least his voice and demeanor came off as male, jumped to warily eye the blonde and the detective, obviously defensive towards them as Kokichi snorted beside him. "Hmph, are you two discriminatory, too? I'll have you know that I am just as much of a person as any of you!!"

"Except you're not human, right Kii-boy?" Kokichi remarked impishly, to which the robot stiffened and sent an offended glare towards him. "Be quiet, Kokichi, stop this robophobia at once!! You are hurting my feelings!!"

"Do robots even have feelings?" Kokichi retorted with a gleeful smile, an innocently curious finger held to his chin as he tilted his head. "Hey, hey, speaking of which, do robots have dicks?!"

"K-Kokichi, that is just... just blatantly unacceptable!!" The male yelped, face growing red, wait robots can blush??, in embarrassment mingled with frustration. Kokichi laughed loudly as he gave a happy little jump, hands swaying childish at his sides.

"Um..." Kaede and Shuichi had been sitting shell shocked on the sidelines as they tried to process the fact that there was an actual robot in front of them, and while he held a hand over his mouth and most likely formed theories in his brain, the pianist decided to approach the boy and learn more, already amazed at the fact he's actually existing.

"Hi, my name's Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, it's nice to meet you!! Are you... actually a robot?" Kaede introduced herself with a pleasant smile, hands clasped in front of her chest as her eyes became glued to the robot in front of her. The mentioned male finally stopped defending himself from the antagonistic Kokichi to blink owlishly at Akamatsu, nervously fiddling with his metallic fingers.

"Ah, yes, I am K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot, but please just call me Kiibo." Kiibo seemed to brighten up with pride as he told Kaede his talent, hands in fists propped against his hips as he smiled respectably, and Kaede sucked in an excited breath.

"Wow, that's awesome, what an amazing talent!!" Kaede clapped her hands in front of her heartily, batting her eyelashes at Kiibo in admiration as he flushed accordingly. "Th-Thank you, Kaede."

"I'm Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. State what you know about this current situation." Shuichi stepped in professionally, although Kaede noticed the new gleam of interest that sparked in his charcoal eyes. Kiibo seemed to react to the official behavior well as he nodded towards the other boy, and stated his case. "I woke up with no recollection of how I got here in a locker beside Kokichi. That's all I know, my apologies."

"It's no problem, everyone's said the same thing, too!!" Kaede assured him, to which Kiibo sighed in relief, giving her a thankful look. "Oh, that's good, I didn't want to seem suspicious, not only because of my clueless state of mind along with being, um, inhumane."

"Well, I suppose we'll be leaving now." Shuichi cut in once again to usher Kaede along to their next destination, and this time, Kaede didn't mind that much. It wasn't like she disliked Kiibo and Kokichi, it's just that they were quite a bit to handle on their own ends of the spectrum.

"Aww, so soon, but Kokichi doesn't know what he'll do without his two favorite pieces of eye candy- don't leave him with this ugly robo-reject!!" Kokichi whined, puffing out his cheeks as Kiibo stumbled over his angered words, blubbering intelligible protests.

"Sorry, Kokichi, we'll see you later, okay?" Kaede decided to just ignore Kokichi's earlier statement, finding that he was just the type of person to try and get a rise out of others, but otherwise he was pretty entertaining : she didn't have a problem with him, even if he did tackle her earlier.

"Okay!!" Kokichi agreed, changing to an uncaring demeanor like a flick of switch, hands behind his head as he hummed a jolly tune to himself, seemingly zoning out of the conversation : both Kaede and Shuichi agreed for once that that probably wasn't the case. Kiibo rolled his eyes in irritation at the purple-haired boy before turning his attention back to the duo, a stationary smile on his face. "Goodbye, Kaede and Shuichi, good luck!!"

"You, too, Kiibo!!" Kaede responded warmly, giving him a small wave as she began to follow Shuichi, who simply grunted before moving past him. Kiibo really fascinated her, and she was excited to learn more about him, plus he was a really pleasant person, if she could call him that : oh god she sounded like Kokichi.

"Bye-Bye, Goldilocks and emo boy!!" Kokichi began to yell goodbyes at Kaede and Shuichi, to which the former sheepishly giggled at, giving him his own wave before following after her male companion. Now, it was time for their usual discussion after meeting someone new, even if Saihara's responses usually differed from her own beliefs.

"So, they were interesting." Kaede began with a not so innocent smile, and Shuichi sighed instantly, quickly picking up on what she was putting down.

"Kokichi was unbelievably suspicious, and just like with Rantaro, I believe he could be very deeply rooted into what's going on." Shuichi explained sharply, shaking his head in distaste as he seemed to shudder at the though of Kokichi's demonic simper. Kaede hummed in semi agreement, taking large, casual steps that kept up with the other's brisk pace. "I dunno, maybe he's just like that in general, and his personality has nothing to do with the situation? We've met pretty mundane people so far, but Ultimates are known for being very eccentric."

"Hmph, Kiibo is very interesting, but doesn't stand out much in relation to our situation." Shuichi concluded, brushing off Kaede's previous statement and surprisingly, not leaving a scathing review of Kiibo, who she thought was the person most reasonably suspicious : she didn't dislike the robot in anyway, it was just he could easily be programmed to be a certain way and be a surveillance camera on them.

Kaede didn't want to suspect her friends though, so she shoved that thought back into her head as an aching pang hit her heart. They'd all get out of here together, even Maki, she'd prove that trust wasn't naive at all.

Next, the two came across what looked like a storage facility, racks upon racks reaching the ceiling piled with miscellaneous items, and boxes open and closed lining the walls. Upon inspection, Kaede found branded snacks and drinks, although suspiciously all the usual criteria on the bag was removed except its brand name and flavor, so counting carbs was a lost cause in this place.

There was hardware, over the counter medical supplies, equipment you'd find in a gardening shed, tools, sports gear, to name a few. Not to mention electronics, art supplies, even a few racks of casual clothes to elegant formal wear, paired with shelves of accessories to match.

"Woah, look at off this...!!" Kaede breathed out in awe, looking around with wide eyes while Shuichi inspecting things closer, Clicking his tongue in what may have been a sign of agreement coming from him, it was hard to tell, he reached up to move something on the shelf curiously. "It is strange, and there's so many things that can be used for lethal purposes."

"Not as fuckin' lethal as these tits!!" Shuichi's pale hands moved a toolbox to reveal an intimidating blonde baring her teeth at the male, who let out a strangled cry as he stumbled backwards, nearly falling into a box of shot put balls while questioning how many rabid women were in this building.

"Wh-What?!" Kaede let out a loud exclamation as she dashed towards Shuichi, helping him stabilize and standing in front of him protectively, puffing out her chest as she made eye contact with the busty female who was now coming around the corner of the aisle. The pianist genuinely felt her jaw drop as this gorgeous strawberry blonde presented herself in front of the former, wearing knee high black boots over white thigh high socks that was connected to her short pink skirt with belt-like straps. She wore a matching pink top with a blue tie that didn't quite fit around her breasts, and similar belt-like straps from before were sewn around her torso. A few black chokers and heavy set of black-pearled necklaces fell on her collarbone : the sky-blue-eyed girl topping the whole look off with steampunk goggles on her forehead.

"Damn, drooling over my bod, huh? Take a picture, it'll last longer the next time you need it~!!" The strawberry blonde remarked haughtily when she quickly took notice of Kaede's staring, who flushed and quickly pulled herself together.

"Sorry, you're just really stunning, is all!!" Kaede apologized with her usual shamelessly blunt approach, laughing sheepishly at herself as she rubbed the back of her neck. Despite her earlier brash demeanor, the other girl's face quickly turned red at the compliment and she shrunk a bit, twirling a strand of hair between her fingerless gloved hands. "Er, really? Hehe, w-well, you're not wrong..."

"Who are you, tell us what you know about this situation!!" Shuichi took back the lead once he regained his composure, but still seemed to hover behind Kaede, disgust deeply rooted in his gaze as he looked at the goggle-wearing girl. She put her hands on her hips as she straightened back up, sending the male a challenging glare.

"The fuck you askin' me, crotchrot?! I know you're finding it hard to even peek at me from in your dank ass closet, but don't try to act all tough with your limp dick attitude!!" The busty blonde spat, growling as she jabbed a thumb down towards her chest area. Shuichi reacted accordingly by flinching backwards in disbelief, stumbling incredulously over his words while the female cackled at his expense.

"Hey, I'm Kaede Akamatsu, and I'm the Ultimate Pianist!! It's really nice to meet you, and it'd really help us if you gave us your name and what you know so we can try to understand what's going on : so can you do that for us?" Kaede amiably explained with a pleasant, close-eyed smile, her naturally charm flooding off of her in waves. The other girl seemed to relent for a moment and chewed on her lip, sky blue eyes clouding over with thought before she crossed her arms over her large chest.

"Fine, I'll spill the beans just for a hot babe like you, even if you're no where near my level of godliness!!" The strawberry blonde relinquished, smirking proudly as she obviously eyed Kaede, who stiffened and blushed deeply, heart rate accelerating for a moment.

"With impeccable looks and golden brains, I'll go down in history as the gorgeous girl genius, Miu Iruma!!" Miu proclaimed with an announcing shout, beaming as she revealed her identity proudly. "I'm the Ultimate Inventor, and I'm sure you've heard of me!!"

"Woah, that's so cool, I think my friends use some of your re-hydrating contacts you made!!" Kaede exclaimed with an excited clap, to which Miu snorted and sneered, appearing satisfied but dismissive of the other girl's reaction. She waved what must've been a poor excuse of humbly nonchalant hand at the pianist, clicking her tongue in annoyance as she rolled her eyes. "Eh, whatever, I sold that off to a company anyway, my tasks while sleeping line is way more useful!!"

"You still haven't answered my other question." Shuichi interrupted with a dark scowl, causing Miu to jolt to attention, and a flash of weakness crossed her features before she bared her teeth and put her hand on her hips, still averting her eyes to the right.

"I don't know a damn thing, don't get all hot and bothered on me now!! I'm just trying to get high off my rocker and forget about this all this stupid shit, so fuck off and save your devotion for another time ya beta cuck!!" Miu barked with a snarl, reaching to pull a green bottle with the label not facing her from a shelf and flipping Shuichi off.

"Fine, just know that the chemical you're intending on chugging is actually rat poison, and if you checked the box you pulled it out of, you'd know what." Shuichi cut through Miu's confident attitude like butter, and she dropped the bottle with a clang, shrieking as she scrambled away in fright : when Kaede looked at the bottle laying face up, she indeed saw a black rat symbol with an x made out of bones crossing it out, and she felt her heart drop in her chest.

"Come on, Kaede, we're leaving." Shuichi hissed darkly, his hand reaching out to clutch Kaede's arm like a handcuff, yanking her along as he stormed out of the storage room, and any words of objection that she had died in her throat when she saw the menacing glint in his charcoal eyes. The lavender-eyed girl looked over her shoulder one last time, stomach tight with nervousness, and found a furious but still anxiously sweating Miu glaring daggers at the two before the blue-haired boy slammed the doors to the room. "You ungrateful virgins, g-go to hell!!"

Once they had stepped outside, the atmosphere was stifling and dread filled, Kaede swallowing nervously as she inspected Shuichi, who was eerily quiet : she figured that this time around, it would be best not to ask his opinion of Miu.

For Kaede, she found Miu extremely beautiful and admirable, her talent leagues above a simple piano player, even if she was very difficult. Akamatsu suspected that the strawberry blonde was putting on a strange sort of front, that there was something else to the girl, and the pianist was interested in breaking those walls down, even if it was most likely going to prove challenging.

After a silent walk, Shuichi seemed to loosen up a bit, the mood lightening, and just in time for them to reach the next area. Kaede went first and held the door open for her male companion, sending him a supportive smile to which he awkwardly nodded at.

"Oh, wow, an arcade!!" Kaede proclaimed eagerly, dashing to look around the room, her gaze landing on a strange black and white box with what looked like miscellaneous prizes inside. Other things in the room looked like those racing games, dance dance revolution, air hockey, and pinball machines, to name a few. The blonde was unable to look further, however, when a gravely voice's words floated into her hearing.

"Yeah, it's strange that this is more than we had in prison." Kaede yelped and whirled around to find an incredibly short male that appeared like a toddler, extremely contrasting from his deep voice. He wore a black jacket with black pants that were blue striped, and on top of it all he wore a cat-eared black bat with what looked like two blue tennis rackets crossed like a x. He had midnight black eyes and chestnut colored hair peaked from behind his hat, which he gloomily pulled down further over his head.

"Yes, it is strange they'd give us such facilities when we're being held against out will." Shuichi replied in agreement, having seemingly already noticed the small male upon entering, who grunted in response. Kaede looked back and forth between the two in confusion before shaking herself out of it, giving the newcomer her introduction and disregarding his earlier, strange comment. "Hi, I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. It's nice to meet you!!"

"Hmph, the name was Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, but I'm afraid now I'm just a shell of the man he used to be." Ryoma responded with a sad chuckle, pulling out what seemed like a candy cigarette and beginning to chew on it. As Kaede frowned disapprovingly at the way he dehumanized himself, before she could jump in, Shuichi inhaled sharply in realization, eyes widening at the tennis player. "You... you're Killer Tennis, aren't you? The tennis player who massacred an entire mafia organization?"

"It seems like you've recognized me, tch, well, you've got me. The man who doubles as the Ultimate Prisoner, as some unofficially call me." Ryoma grunted resentfully, biting a piece off his candy cigarette with an audible snap as Shuichi regarded him warily, Kaede unable to comprehend the new information she was processing. "Guess you've realized that it's best to stay clear of me."

"I'm Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective, and I've heard a lot about your case. Apparently you won one of their rigged tennis games and in return they killed your friends and family, including your lover, correct? I understand why you did this, but I don't agree with vigilante idealism." Shuichi continued, not missing a beat as Ryoma flinched at his words, and Kaede, startled, took a hold of the detective's arm to quiet him, sending an apologetic look Hoshi's way. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you, Ryoma, but don't worry : we won't judge you for it!!"

"Really now?" Ryoma let out a deep sigh as Shuichi shook his head with chagrin at Kaede, who didn't hesitate to nod with conviction at the former male's question. His eyes clouded over with a deadly darkness as he leaned forward, voice lowering for a moment as his words struck through her composure like a bullet. "Well then, you won't last long out in a world like this."

With that final note of warning, his soft footsteps signaled his exit as Kaede stood frozen, with Shuichi awkwardly hovering by her side. Her chest hurt, and she had to question why so many people she came in contact with felt the need to punch a hole in her beliefs, to the point where she could almost feel tears burning in her eyes.

"Kaede...?" Came Shuichi's uncertain voice, and Kaede felt his oddly comforting hand on her shoulder, this contact pulling her out of the pool of bitterness she'd fell in. She took a shaky breath and turned her head to send him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she clenched her fists at her side. "I-I'm fine, don't worry about me!! I'm sure he's been through a lot."

"Um, yeah." Shuichi agreed, and another beat of silence followed as he reached to pull his hat down further over his eyes. "Look, Kaede, I admire you for your optimism. In truth, that blatant positivity is what made me trust you, even if it can be foolish sometimes."

"R-Really?" Kaede felt a swell of emotion form in her chest as she stared in surprise at Shuichi, this show of affection coming unexpectedly, but still welcomed tenfold as she felt her hope blossom full bloom once again.

"Yeah... so don't let a few differences of opinion deter you, you're stronger than that." Shuichi gave Kaede the first smile she'd seen from him, and even if it was tight-lipped, it still meant the world to her. And suddenly, even with all the roadblocks and obstacles, it didn't seem so bad with a partner like him by her side.

<| |>


	5. Our Caged Horizon

<| |>

After investigating a big library that Shuichi seemed obsessed with, Kaede reaches an open room with three corridors, and a stick-like male standing in the middle of the room. She didn't pay much attention to this information, though, once her eyes locked onto an extremely tall and wide door at the west end of the room from where she entered.

"Shuichi, look, an exit!!" Kaede shouted ecstatically, racing towards the door as she laughed, joy seeping out of her pores. Shuichi seemed less excited, however, as he slowly followed after, regarding the other male in the room with a wary nod.

"Kaede, don't get your hopes up too much. Remember, there's a cage surrounding the academy." Shuichi reminded her monotonously, to which Kaede gaze a frustrated huff and crossed her arms, only slightly discouraged. "Come on Shuichi, at least we can see our surroundings and maybe get an idea on where we might be!!"

"My, my, such optimism, most I've watched come through here were very distressed at the realization we couldn't just waltz out of here." Kaede gave a startled jump and turned her head to see a tall, thin male in black combat boots and green pants plus a green jacket, his slender hands wrapped to show no skin under white bandages. He wore a face mask that came up from his neck to the bridge of his nose, a zipper area where his mouth would be : he had long dark hair with piercing yellow eyes that studied her like a curious cat, a sophisticated glint shining within them. His spidery fingers reached up to pinch the bridge of his green hat, nodding apologetically at her as he raised an explanatory hand. "My apologies if I gave you a fright, I'm afraid my appearance is quite off-putting to others."

"Oh, no, it's fine, really!! My name's Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, it's nice to meet you!!" Kaede happily dismissed his apology with a shake of her head, giving him a close-eyed smile. The taller male chuckled and crossed his arms, eyes drifting downwards as he began to fiddle with a pocket watch attached to his one of his jacket's many pockets. "What a fine occupation. I am Korekiyo Shinguuji, although some find my name hard to pronounce, so you may just call me Kiyo. I am also the Ultimate Anthropologist."

"I'm Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. Please state what you know about this situation." Shuichi requested with the usual spiel, Korekiyo nodding in understanding. "I'm sorry to say that I don't remember how I got here, just that I've woken up with fifteen other Ultimates in what might be a hostage situation, quite interesting to say the least."

"Anthropology? Like, the study of humanity, right?" Kaede jumped back into the conversation after a second of concentration, Shuichi facepalming beside her at her backtracking topics : however, Korekiyo seemed to perk up at the mention of anthropology. "More specifically, the study of humanity's culture. Are you perhaps interested in learning about anthropology, Kaede?"

"Mhm, sure, it sounds really interesting!! Music is pretty darn tied to culture, so it'd be fun to explore that!!" Kaede chirped with an enthusiastic nod, hands clasped behind her back as she did so. There appeared to be an indentation of a smile behind Korekiyo's mask as his eyes fluttered shut, giving a nod of his own in response. "Kukuku, is that so? Well then, maybe we'll have a conversation over tea later."

"I guess we'll be going now." Shuichi cut in, looking irritated by the interaction as he guided Kaede towards the door. She rolled her eyes at him fondly, but allowed him to lead her away, sending a cheery smile over her shoulder. "Bye, Kiyo, I'm looking forward to our chat later!!"

"And so am I, farewell." Were the last words Kaede heard from Korekiyo as the huge doors groaned agonizingly when Shuichi began to push them open, a small crack of light shining through before a blinding wave of it burst through. The blonde could feel wind rush past her, and she moved a hand to shield her eyes as she squinted. Eventually her vision cleared up and saw a bright blue sky with a few clouds dotting the horizon, sun casting golden rays on her form, making her feel very refreshed for a moment : then she saw it.

A vast metal dome stretching far above the building, gleaming menacingly in the light of day as Kaede felt her stomach twist with nausea. She knew it was coming, she shouldn't be acting like this, but she still felt so much weight on her chest at the sight of this. Shuichi next to her grimaced and pulled his hat down lower over his face, and a moment of heavy silence crossed between them, only disturbed by a voice shouting loud curses a few feet away.

"Damn it, they say the sky's the limit, but this brings a whole new meaning to it!!" A tall, muscular male explained, purple hair puffing up like a shrub as he glared at the cage. He had purple eyes and a purple goatee, wearing a pastel purple jacket and pants, with the jacket having a galaxy design on it : strangely enough, he only had his left arm inside the jacket, the other side just flapping by in the wind. His white shirt decorated with red, smoke-like swirls were tight around his abs, and he let out an agitated huff as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, it's kinda discouraging, isn't it? But we can't give up hope now!!" Kaede agreed wistfully at first, before pumping her arms into the air, forcing any remaining doubts away as she stubbornly held onto her conviction. The amethyst-eyed male looked down at her in surprise before grinning heartily, pounding his fists against each other as he passionately nodded his head. "That's right, don't worry about it, I'll find a way for us out of here!!"

"Do you have a plan?" Shuichi remarked skeptically, looking unimpressed by the other boy's bravado. The purple-haired male swallowed sheepishly before he scratched the back of his neck, shaking his head before flashing a courageous smile.

"No, not yet, but I'm Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, and the Ulimate Astronaut!! Even crying children adore this fearless hero!!" Kaito announced boldly, and Kaede gave an astonished clap as she beamed admiringly back up at him. Shuichi, on the other hand, scoffed and scowled at the Astronaut, distrust swimming his dark gaze. "You just dodged my question. Also, aren't you required to have several degrees to be an astronaut, which you would have to graduate high school for?"

"You're a tough one, huh?" Kaito commented with a huff, appearing to pout slight before he put his hands on his hips. "I'll admit, I got a buddy of mine to forge some documents, but once I was in the program they thought I was so good they gave me the Ultimate title : nothing can stop me from going to space!!"

"Oh, so you illegally registered and haven't even been to space yet, how trustworthy." Shuichi raised a quizzical eyebrow at Kaito, who cleared his throat awkwardly, unable to come up with a response. Kaede frowned at her companion and elbowed him, eyeing him disapprovingly. "Don't be so mean, Shuichi, it's not uh... the best way to achieve your dream, but it's for a good reason!!"

"Whatever." Shuichi turned on his heel gloomily and began stalking away, leaving Kaede with a rushed last minute decision to follow after him. She gave Kaito an apologetic smile, to which he just replied with an unbothered grin, and she ran after the detective, catching up to him only somewhat out of breath.

"Shuichi, you have to stop doing this : Kaito's a nice guy!!" Kaede scolded as she stomped to keep pace with him, and even with the icy scowl he gave her, she wasn't deterred. She believed Kaito was truly a reliable person that she shared a similar mindset with, and that was such a relief in this place full of pessimists : she could understand a difference of opinion, but they were so rude about it here.

"He's shady, Kaede, this is a moment where you have to be more aware of your surroundings. Kaito is literally involved with illegal activity." Shuichi refuted sharply, Kaede pursing her lips for a heartbeat before moving to block his path.

"Well, you keep on telling me not to be so trusting, but you're doing the other extreme : doubting everyone!! What's gonna happen when you insult the wrong person, Shuichi, are you gonna miss my overbearing optimism then?!" Kaede yelled, eyes clamped shut as she poured emotion into her words, fists clenched tightly at her sides. After a few seconds of silence, she noticed Shuichi wasn't responding, and she opened her eyes accusingly to find him looking at her cautiously, nervous sweat dripping down his brow. "Kaede, move."

"Not until you admit you need to open up more, too!! It's unfair that you ask me to change myself when..." In the middle of speaking, Kaede spotted a looming shadow pouring over her form, and her argumentative tone grew quiet as she slowly turned her body to follow it, the beastly owner's glowing red eyes staring down at her. "...you're the exact same way...!!"

"Gahh!!" Kaede let out a shrill scream as she bolted forward, coincidentally landing in Shuichi's arms as she clutched him shakily, terrified as she looked to see whatever had been standing behind her. A gigantically tall boy with thick, unkempt green hair that came down to the small of his back stood there, looking distressed behind his circular glasses, pale red eyes seeming a lot less intimidating now that she took the time to look from a distance. He wore a brown suit and no shoes, a lime green, small bug container bouncing at his hip. "Oh, Gonta is sorry, he not mean to scare!!"

"Um... it's fine, d-don't worry about it!!" Kaede slowly let go of Shuichi, who cleared his throat, the pink dying down his cheeks before he reluctantly addressed the big, muscular male first.

"I-I'm Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. State your name and what you know about this situation." Shuichi stuttered through his usual request, nervously eyeing the giant who didn't seem to mind that much. He smiled warmly and gave a small wave, blinking apologetically down at the two.

"Gonta is Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist. Gonta's dream is to be true gentleman!!" Gonta chirped with what seemed like stunted speech, but he frowned and looked down the next moment. "But it is not very gentlemanly to scare people, right? Gonta does that a lot."

"Oh, no no!! You're fine, Gonta, really!! I just didn't look where I was going, is all. I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, it's really nice to meet you!!" Kaede leaped to assure him, quickly being taken by the gentle giant, feeling immensely bad for her earlier fright. Gonta blinked at her before smiling a close-eyed smile, his face cutely happy for such a muscular male. "Gonta says thank you very much, it nice to meet you, too, Kaede!!"

"Err, well, I guess we'll get going, r-right, Kaede?" Shuichi seemed much less pushy than usual when he slowly inched away from Gonta, and unlike Kaede, he seemed to hold onto his initial fear of the Entomologist. She wanted to disagree and stay to talk with the nice boy longer, but she didn't want to make her companion too uncomfortable and start another fight that she had just barely came down from, so she sighed and gave Gokuhara a cheery smile. "Well, bye Gonta, we'll talk soon, okay?"

"Yes, Gonta like that idea, bye Kaede and Shuichi!!" Gonta's face lit up and he gave an excited wave, to which Kaede giggled at and returned, fondly smiled at him as she followed after Shuichi.

The sound of rushing water greeted them after a short walk to what looked like a greenhouse created like bird cage, beautiful flowers planted on steps and vines growing up pillars, all surrounding a small fountain, a rushing waterfall towards the back of the scenery. Sitting on the steps lining the edge of the fountain was a small, tan girl with what looked like a white and pastel blue bikini top, matched with a pastel blue and white skirt that had a pink sash holding multiple paint brushes on the side. A few naval piercing surrounded her belly button and she wore a pearl bracelet and a pearl necklace with a shell pendulum on it. She had silvery white hair tied into two small tails, and wore a long yellow coat that came down to her knees, her ocean blue eyes shining brightly as she kicked her legs back and forth while she sat, propping herself up with her hands.

"Yah-hah!! How are ya?" This girl was the one who approached them first, for once, and gave them a cheery smile as she gave an exaggerated wave. "Angie's name is Angie Yonaga, she's the Ultimate Artist!!"

"Hey, I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist!! It's nice to meet you, Angie." Kaede gave her own sweet smile back as she stepped up to Angie, already feeling positive about this other girl : finally, someone who really reminded her of herself!! Shuichi himself didn't seem very happy with the artist, however, skeptical of how she could be so upbeat in this situation, which she quickly explained.

"Nyahaha, there's no reason reason to carry bad thoughts with ya!! You gotta live every day like it's bright, cheery, and fun!!" Angie chimed, stretching her hands over her head as she tilted to the side, and Kaede prepared herself to clap in agreement. She stopped, though, once the other girl put her head down, intertwining her hands in front of her in a prayer like manner. "...So says Atua."

"Who's Atua?" Kaede questioned curiously, and Angie quickly perked up at the question, looking happy to explain. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, tilting her head up with her fingers at her side in a mediation position. "He's the god of Angie's island, and is always with Angie, lending his divine wisdom!!"

"That's nice!! He sounds like... a good god!!" Kaede responded hesitantly, unsure if it was respectful to just call a god 'good.' Angie didn't seem to mind, though, and leaned forward eagerly, a paint brush pointed toward the other girl. "Are you perhaps interested in learning about Angie's religion?"

"Um, sure...?" Kaede agreed with a reluctant nod, and Angie let out a delighted cheer as she clapped her hands in a thrilled manner. "Excellent, Atua will be glad to have you!! Now the education fee is a pint of your blood!!"

"What?! A-Ah, I'm a bit anemic, s-so I'll pass!!" Kaede stuttered fearfully, taking a wary step back towards the equally unnerved Shuichi. He flinched once Angie's questioning gaze turned towards him, and he held his arms out in front of him defensively. "I don't think that's healthy for the human body...!!"

"Fine, fine, you two are no fun, nyahaha!!" Angie laughed brightly, eyes glimmering with amusement. She held a paint brush to her lips and seemed to think for a moment, nodding to herself after a few seconds passed. "Angie guesses that it's good to spread the word about the wonderful Atua, anyway, to gather more followers : so lucky for you, Angie will inform you for free, how divine!!"

"A-Ah, thank you." Kaede responded carefully, nervous sweat beading on her temple as Shuichi gulped anxiously from behind her. Angie nodded her head enthusiastically, going quiet for a moment and letting the rushing water wash through their psyche. It was quite peaceful, the pianist understood why the white-haired girl was drawn here, and she felt her worries melt away for a moment. After a few beats of silence, Kaede decided that maybe it was time to end this interaction before the other girl's voice chimed in once again.

"Angie knows that this situation is troublesome, but never fear!! Just pray and everything will be okay!!" Angie reassured the two with a gleaming grin, and any doubts Kaede had about her melted away. She seemed to really just care about everyone's well being, in both mind and body, even if she was a bit eccentric. Akamatsu thinks she'll get alone well with the other girl.

Saying goodbye to Angie, Shuichi and Kaede backtracked to a large building with many glass windows, the door being see through itself as she pushed it open. Looking around, she found what looked to be rooms for each of the Ultimates, four rooms on the bottom and with stairs leading up to another row, genders divided to different sides of the building. The blonde found her pixel sprite to be on the bottom, farthest to the right with Miu's dorm being right next to her. Above her was Himiko, followed by Angie, and Tenko next to her, Maki being the farthest way away from the pianist on the upper left corner of the girls' side. Tsumugi was the second closest to the entrance, with the closest to the door happening to be someone who they hadn't met yet, but was still in the area with them, waiting to be approached.

On the boys' side, the one by the door on the bottom was Ryoma, Kokichi being above him : next to Ryoma was Korekiyo, and next to Kokichi was Kiibo. On the farthest right on the lower half of the male dorms was Shuichi, with Gonta being above him, and Rantaro to his left, with Kaito finally being located in between the robot and entomologist.

"This is strange, I fail to see a clear objective..." A slim figured female stood deep in thought, wearing a gothic maid uniform with spiderweb designs towards the edge of the fabric. She had elegant features and pixie cut that curved to sweep down and cover her left, olive eye with silver hair. Right away, Kaede was in awe of her beauty, and was happy to start a conversation with her with a sweet smile. "You mean about why we're here, right? It's super weird that we woke up just to wander around in a rundown academy!!"

"Indeed, if they were holding us for ransom such a large facility would prove unnecessary." The gorgeous female agreed with an appreciative blink in Kaede direction, which made the blonde's face momentarily heat up while the other girl continued to speak in her melodic voice. "Furthermore, I believe this means they'd rather care for us instead of putting us in harm's way."

"I've been thinking of that, too, I find it increasingly hard to discover why we've been brought here." Shuichi replied with a nod of his head, seemingly thinking positive of this newcomer whose mannerisms somewhat aligned with his, in a more polite way, that is.

"Oh, pardon me, I'm afraid I have not introduced myself yet. I am Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate made, it's my pleasure to make your acquaintance." Kirumi smiled becomingly and gave a small bow, tilting her head forward respectfully. "Be sure to let me know if you ever require my service.'

"Geeze, that's such a cool talent, I'm impressed!!" Kaede gave a close-eyed smile, but it seemed bitter sweet as self doubt suddenly poured down on her. What could a simple pianist do to help anyone in this sort of situation? At least a maid could make everyone feel comfortable, and a detective could find us a solution, but the lavender-eyed girl was worthless without her piano : she really, really wished Shuichi had allowed her to seal herself away in what could've been her only safe haven!!

"Talent doesn't define everyone, and I assure you I am just doing my best to stick to my motto, selfless devotion. I'm sure you're extremely profound in your own pursuits, talent related or not." Kirumi gave Kaede a knowing look, a soft smile painting her lips as Akamatsu jumped in surprise. She quickly beamed back, flustered but confidence sky rocketing as she gave an adoring tilt of her head. "Thank you so much, I'm sure we're both wonderful people in our own respects, and I'm excited to get to know you, Kirumi!!"

"Ah, wait, I've heard of Kirumi Tojo!!" Shuichi let out a startled gasp, admiration sparking in his gaze as he looked at Kirumi, and Kaede was honestly surprised to ever see him look like he actually respected someone. The maid in question blinked curiously, but still turned her attentive eyes on him, gloved hands neatly rested in her lap.

"An Ultimate with incredible intellect and strength, working as a private maid..." Shuichi began, almost appearing excited to talk about Kirumi's accomplishments. The female herself didn't seem very proud, looking more humble as she smiled passively. "I heard that her word is so perfect, she can complete any request given to her!!"

"What, she's that amazing!!" Kaede exclaimed in shock, but honestly, she had no trouble matching that description to the fair girl in front of her. Kirumi, on the other hand, dismissively shook her head at Shuichi, frowning a bit. "Please, you are exaggerating, I will not complete any request given of me. I once received a request to get rid of a rival nation, but it was impossible to do so, so I rejected it."

"Being requested to do that is still a big thing on its own, Kirumi, you should be proud!!" Kaede urged stubbornly, and Kirumi looked away with a somewhat bashful expression, which the blonde found absolutely adorable on her. Shuichi jumped back in, though, to pursue the topic keenly. "I've also heard that she's been hired as a bodyguard to several foreign dignitaries."

"I have only been employed as a maid, not a bodyguard, and it was simply in my duties to protect whomever I was working for." Kirumi reminded Shuichi politely, seemingly determined to not become too vain of herself while in the presence of the two, although Kaede didn't doubt that the silver-haired female was just as humble normally.

"But you've been hired by so many important people : you're, like, a super maid!!" Kaede gushed with sparkling eyes, stubbornly fixed on hyping up Kirumi. The other girl seemed to sense that this was getting us nowhere, however, and gently moved onto the next topic of discussion. "Moving on, what do you intend to do now?"

Kaede was taken aback by the question, stumbling over any words she tried to form while Shuichi looked just as stumped, although a little more put together than his female companion. They were saved by the bell quite literally, though, when a strange sound echoed throughout the building, a monitor flickering on that she had not noticed before, although now that she thought about it there was one in every area, to show... a weird, clash of ugly colors on screen, with doll versions of the Ultimates they'd met so far strewn across the cartoonish room. Even more distressing was the strange shadow that was distorted by the static screen, and its high pitched, chipper voice made Akamatsu shiver as it carried through the speakers.

"Puhuhu, testing, testing, can you hear me? Now, please make your way to the auditorium for the orientation ceremony to begin!!" Its eerie voice ordered, and as the screen shut off with a click, Kaede felt a heavy, twisting pool of dread form in her stomach, and she knew right now, anything that the speaker had to say was something that would not mean well for her.

<| |>


	6. The Killing School Semester Begins

<| |>

"So... I guess we're going to the gym." Kaede's voice trembled as she flashed a nervous smile to Kirumi and Shuichi, hands shakily grasping at the fabric of her skirt. She didn't want to do this, she didn't like the foreboding feeling that filled her at all, but the thought of what could happen if she refused scared her even more.

"I'll accompany you, then. I have no reason to stay behind." Kirumi gave a small bow and began to move towards the door, looking somewhat disconcerted, but keeping it together overall : Kaede admired her composure, so unlike her shaky hands and moist brow. Shuichi had withdrawn himself as he silently covered his mouth with his hands, his own temple wet with sweat as he glared anxiously into space.

"Come on, Shuichi!! Don't be nervous, I'm here with you the whole way!!" Kaede walked up and placed her hand on his shoulder, smiling reassuringly at him, forcing herself to be positive so that his worries would be eased. Shuichi stared at her for moment, charcoal gaze unreadable as she felt her demeanor begin to crack, before he gave a small nod and pursed his lips. "Yeah. Let's go."

Kaede grinned and led the way while Kirumi held the door open for them, giving her a small thank you as Shuichi grunted in appreciation. They continued their journey back to the academy, seemingly the ones at the back as they saw no other students in sight, making the unfamiliar territory even more eerie. Their footsteps echoed through the prison academy's halls as they made it to a small alcove with ferns growing at the edge of the doors, the rusted sign saying gym plastered above the oak. Even before the blonde entered, she could hear furious curses from behind the doors, and the source was soon revealed to be a somewhat comedic sight.

Kokichi was clutching onto Miu's back like a baby monkey, cackling impishly while the inventor let out very crude curses directed at the boy. "Get the fuck off of me, you shriveled up little abortion!!"

"Nishishi, you'll have to get your coat hangers out, Miu my love!!" Kokichi cooed teasingly, to which Miu's face turned beet red from either anger or embarrassment, most likely both. Kaede was left to stare in shock at the interaction, but decided it would be best to help the other girl, so she approached with an amused glint in her lavender eyes

"Hey, Kokichi? Can you get off of Miu, please?" Kaede tested with a small smile, arm outstretched toward the chaotic duo. While Miu hissed underneath him, Kokichi tilted his head like an innocent puppy at Akamatsu, an unassuming smile plastered on his lips. She deadpanned, sighing before covering her exasperation up with a patient beam. "Well, you might really hurt her by doing that."

"Sooo?" Kokichi questioned childishly, and just as Kaede began looking frustrated, he giggled cheerfully, hopping off Miu with a small little grunt. "Just kidding, anything for you, Goldilocks!!"

"Fucking little shit!!" Miu spat as she scrambled to her feet, grimacing as she rubbed her back. Worry washed over Kaede's features as she took a step forward, putting her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Are you okay, Miu?"

"Huh, what? O-Of course I fuckin' am!!" Miu barked back, but she was obviously flustered as she shied away from Kaede's touch. The pianist gave the other girl one more concerned glance before giving in, smiling pleasantly at Iruma as she began to turn her heel.

"That's good!! Hey, Shuichi, what do you-" Kaede turned to talk to Shuichi, only to find herself alone with Miu and Kokichi, Kirumi also having disappeared. Looking around, she noticed the two had moved quite a bit away to have their own discussion, most likely forming theories about their situation. Disappointment turned Kaede's lips downward into a frown, feeling disheartened that her companions had ditched her so easily.

"Aw, did sucky me's friends ditch her?!" Miu laughed behind Kaede, the latter chuckling sheepishly as she rubbed her arm, trying to hide how much the other's words jabbed into her. Kokichi, still standing a little ways away from Akamatsu to the right, tilted his head with a blank smile as he looked up at her. "Hey, Goldilocks, why do you hang out with Shuichi anyway? He obviously doesn't like you."

"Wh-What?" Kaede was visibly taken aback by Kokichi's question, a nervous bead of sweat dripping down her temple. The male didn't relent as he tilted forward, his bright smile seriously contrasting the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"I mean, he constantly glares at you, and just seems generally annoyed with what you have to say." Kokichi explained further, so innocent with the way he poked and prodded at Kaede's psyche. "Basically, he doesn't seem to think highly of you whatsoever."

"Well, I um..." Kaede wasn't sure exactly what to say : it was true Shuichi had hurt her feelings on several occasions, but considering the situation it wasn't like everybody had time to concentrate on being the nicest people in the world. Clearing all of her doubts with a shake of her head, she gave Kokichi a defiant look as she held onto her optimistic beliefs.

"You can't expect everyone to be carefree like you, Shuichi has been there when I needed him and that's what counts." Kaede argues stubbornly as she crossed her arms, and Kokichi snickered as he rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "Ohhh sweet, sweet, gullible Goldilocks."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kaede demanded with a huff, and before Kokichi could respond with a cheeky grin, some dreadful voice snagged their attention. Immediately a chill crawled down her spine as a familiar odd laugh echoed through the gymnasium, and every students' heads snapped towards the source of the sound : the stage at the front of the gym, and more specifically, the podium in the center.

"Looks like all of my lovely students have arrived : wonderful, just wonderful!!" The overly cheerful voice cooed, and as each student steeled themselves to face their captor, they had no way to ready themselves for what they saw next. Doing a somersault on top of the podium, a half white half black bear plush grinned maniacally, a blood red eye glowing ominously down at the astonished teens. "Well, welcome, welcome, to your new wonderful life at Hope's Peak Prison Academy!!"

"What the hell is that thing?!" Kaito shouted shrilly, stumbling back with jaw hanging wide open. Beside him, Maki rolled her eyes, but seemed much tenser than her usual stony features were normally. Several students followed suit with shocked cries, more specifically the louder students, such as Tenko and Miu, while the quieter students were voicing their opinions more quietly.

"There's a dark aura of madness surrounding that bear... he's overflowing with despair." Korekiyo commented, his citrine eyes glinting with what seemed to be admiration. Himiko was shaking and sweaty, looking downwards as her lip trembled. Tenko seemed to take note of this, and despite her own nerve-wracked features she jumped to reassure the smaller girl. "D-Don't worry, Himiko : Tenko will protect you with her Neo Aikido!!"

"Nyeh, I don't need you, I-I'm just channeling my MP is all..." Himiko refuted with a tight lipped scowl, causing Tenko to yelp and nod her heard obediently. "Yes Himiko, Tenko believes in you!!"

All these reactions flew past Kaede as she inhaled sharply, eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at the strange creature in front of her : was this really supposed to be the kidnapper of them all? Kokichi's face was a nonchalant smiling mask as his purple eyes burrowed into this thing. "A robot...? Hey Kii-boy, is that your long lost brother?!"

"What?! D-Don't just make robophobic assumptions like that, Kokichi!! It is highly unlikely we were made by the same creator!!" Kiibo argued furiously, pointing an accusing finger at Kokichi, who just laughed and beamed mischievously up at him. "How do you know that? You're a super good AI, right? Just looks like your creator made a much less lame looking version of you!! Although you both still look pretty shitty."

"What do you mean by our life at Hope's Peak Prison Academy?" Rantaro's steely voice interrupted the panic teeming through the room as he seemed to remain calm, emerald eyes piercing into the strange bear. The robotic creature gave his signature chuckle, and dread immediately flooded every teenagers' bodies at the animosity in his glowing red eye.

"Well, first off, I suppose we should start with an introduction." He inquired with his permanent devilish grin, and he tilted his head to the side before swinging out his arm in a flourish. "I am Monokuma, your headmaster!! Welcome to your new life for the undetermined future!!"

"W-Wait, what?!" Kaede exclaimed, staring at Monokuma in disbelief as her forehead glistened with nervous sweat. Once again cries of outrage echoed through the crowded space, tensions high in the auditorium.

"What do you mean by that?" Kirumi questioned firmly, appearing put together but her stiff posture betrayed her apprehension. Next to her, Shuichi had his hands balled into tight fists at his sides as he glowered up at Monokuma. "Why have you brought us here in the first place?"

"Why you've been gathered here you say...?" Monokuma mused aloud impishly, body shaking with laughter as Shuichi seemed to quickly regret his inquiry due to this reaction. He covered his mouth briefly before his cackling shuddered to stop, the bear obviously taking delight in the negative emotions in air. "Well, for a killing game of course!!"

"Killing game?" Rantaro's attention was even more locked onto Monokuma now, the green-haired male being the only semblance of calm in the distressed group. Several students let out shrill screams of protest, some unable to wrap their minds around the subject or else just being gripped with pure terror.

"Wh-What the shit, this... this can't be fuckin' happening!!" Miu yelped as she pulled at her strawberry blonde hair, knees nearly buckling underneath her as she sweat profusely. Ryoma's expression darkened grimly and he pulled his hat further down over his forehead, grimacing deeply. "This is turning out to be a very cruel story..."

"What s-sort of killing game?" Tsumugi asked timidly, glasses slipping down her nose as she wrung her hands anxiously, form visibly shaking. Monokuma let out another manic chuckle at the question, and Kirumi looked just about done with this painstakingly slow explanation. "What exactly is so amusing?"

"Well, I just want you with your Ultimate-level talents to participate in a killing game!!" Monokuma announced once again, holding his stomach as his sharp teeth gleamed in the agonizingly bright lights of the space. Finally, this information finally sunk into Kaede's understanding, and her mouth opened and closed for a moment before she could finally get her words out. "K-Killing game, us?!"

"Please stop joking!! Why would we agree to participate in a killing game?!" Kiibo argued, pointing a shaky accusing finger at Monokuma, his robotic face surprisingly conveying his nervousness well. Monokuma blinked blankly at the other metal being, tilting his head to the side curiously. "Huh? You guys don't want to do it?"

"'C-Course not, gentlemen not kill people!!" Gonta exclaimed, obviously getting riled up as his crimson eyes gleamed angrily. Monokuma seemed unfazed as he chuckled and smiled cheekily down at the Ultimates, his unusual cheeriness making his words even more horrifying.

"But if you've looked around the academy, then you already know, don't you?" Monokuma began, radiating smugness as he stated his case in a matter of fact way. "The academy is surrounded by a huge wall ; you can't escape to the outside world... and I have my own means of ensuring you don't defy me."

"In other words..." The air chilled as Monokuma continued, his snide smirk either angering or paralyzing the ones who saw it. "I hold the power of life and death over everyone of you."

"So basically, your word is now law." Rantaro connected with his arms crossed seriously, strangely even-tempered in this terrifying situation. A little ways a way, still stationed by Himiko, Tenko shook her head vigorously in denial. "Th-This is insane, Tenko wouldn't kill her friends!!"

"Who said you guys were friends?" Monokuma pondered with mock surprise, and his gaze darkened while it swept over the trapped crowd of teens. "You guys aren't friends at all... you're enemies out to kill each other as of right now."

"Enemies?" Angie mused with her ocean blue eyes peering at Monokuma, lips pursed as she kept her positive smile on her face. There was a mind scrambling ringing throughout Kaede's mind as she stumbled away from the stage, shaky hands held out defensively at her sides like they would protect herself from this traumatizing situation.

"I want to ask something. How are we gonna do this : are you gonna give us weapons?" Ryoma's deep voice suddenly spoke up, his candy cigarette considerably gnawed as he pointed it at Monokuma. Kaito's jaw dropped and he whirled around to face the shorter boy, obviously taken aback by the question. "What the hell man, what are you asking?!"

"We need to get info from them first. We can't do anything if we don't know anything." Ryoma explained calmly, closing his eyes as he spoke as if to complete his nonchalant mask. Monokuma's eyes glittered with amusement as he eyed the tennis player, grin growing larger. "Weapons, huh? What kind of barbaric scene are you imagining, mister Hoshi? You couldn't be more wrong, you see... at the Ultimate Prison Academy for Gifted Juveniles, the killing game is quite the refined and sophisticated experience!!"

"What the hell does 'sophisticated' mean?!" Maki snapped, animosity shining in her narrowed vermilion gaze as she scowled at Monokuma. He nodded at the question and happily began to expand on his previous statement. "Yes, of course!! Here, the killing game includes class trials to make things a bit more... interesting."

"Class... trials...?" Kaede parroted hesitantly, lavender eyes finding it hard to focus as her vision blurred with panic. Her heart was racing, she felt like her skin was burning up to the point it was melting off, and her head hurt so, so, so much.

"Yes, yes, let me explain!!" Monokuma took on a mocking teaching tone as a display appeared out of nowhere, a screen showcasing a court scene with blue-schemed students, three on each side standing at podiums. "Sooo if one of you maggots kill someone, you all take part in a class trial. The class trial is where the blackened killer faces off against their spotless classmates, where you try to find out who the blackened is!!"

"After that is voting time!! If the majority so happens to vote correctly..." Monokuma trailed off for a moment before his ominous nature came back full force. "Only the blackened killer will be punished, and after that you'll continue living together until the next death."

"However, if you vote incorrectly... the blackened gets off scot-free and the rest of you ingrates get punished!!" Monokuma announced in a grand fashion, and Himiko huffed and pouted her lips. "Gross..."

"The point is, even if you kill someone, you'll have to survive undiscovered through a class trial!!" Monokuma concluded, brushing off Himiko's comment with ease as he let the information sink into the teenagers' minds. Rantaro stared off thoughtfully to the side, letting out a quiet mutter. "Kill without being caught and survive the trial... sounds eerily similar to the real world."

"You think so? Then even the world must be masterfully designed, even at its cruelest!!" Monokuma picked up on Rantaro's mumbling rather quickly, clapping his paws gleefully at the concept. Korekiyo raised a bandaged hand in a comical way like a student asking a question in class. "One can likely imagine, but I shall ask, just in case... what is the punishment you mentioned earlier?"

"Simply put, it's an execution!!" Monokuma answered right off the bat, the words hitting Kaede in her chest as her breath caught briefly in her throat. Gonta shared her distraught feelings apparently, and he let out a startled yelp. "E-Execution?!"

"If you do a crime, you get punished for it : that's, like, the most basic rule of society. Thoooough, this is a killing game after all, so the punishment for murder is, hmm, a bit more... permanent!!" Monokuma informed with malice radiating off of his form, red eye glowing with animosity. "Sooo, let's get this heart pounding killing school semester started already!!"

"Killing school semester, it's like a game..." Rantaro commented darkly, an eerie smile plastered messily on his features while his emerald eyes betrayed the swirling discourse in his mind. Korekiyo let out his own strained signature laugh as his citrine eyes glittered dangerously, the brim of his hat somewhat shadowing his face. "Kehehe... risking our lives for some ludicrous game is absurd."

"It doesn't seem like it'll be boring, though!!" Kokichi piped up with a childish excitement, a devilish smirk taking over his ghostly pale features. Tenko seemed to pick up on the series of strange behaviors and pointed a clammy finger at the culprits. "H-Hey, how can you degenerates be so, so calm?!"

"This... this has to be a lie, right? I-It has to be...!!" Tsumugi whispered with a trembling voice, nervous sweat pouring down her temple as she adjusted her glasses with shaky hands. Kaede wanted to agree, she wanted her to be right and she wanted this to all just be a crazy dream, but there was sinking feeling in her stomach that assured her this was reality. This wasn't fiction, a reality show, or some crazy thing people watched for entertainment, this was the cold, hard truth.

"This is... this is ridiculous, how can something so big slip under the radar?!" Shuichi hissed, gritting his teeth together as his pale hands dug into the brim of his hat. Kaede blinked slowly before nodding, letting out a distressed shout of protest. "I'd never do that, no one would, I won't do it!!"

"Puhuhuhu, well, that's a shame really, because the only reason you're here is because of the killing game!!" Monokuma whined childishly, to which Shuichi let out an incredulous explanation. "What?!"

"W-Wait just a minute!!" Kaede called out with forceful emotion, mind whirling with thoughts with one clear notion in her mind. "No matter what you say, we won't do it, we won't play your stupid game!! I won't let you get away with this!!"

"Blah blah blah, we get it, it's that time of the month. Now let's get on with the rules!!" Monokuma nonchalantly waved the fuming Kaede off and suddenly pulled out a comically large stack of tablets, beginning to pass them out rapidly, the students miraculously having caught one despite the velocity of the objects.

"What is this?" Kirumi questioned tensely, cautiously inspecting the object, turning it around in her agile gloved hands. Many of the other students mirrored her actions, equally confused and nervous about the electronics' contents. Monokuma proudly placed one paw on where a hip might be on his oval-shaped torso, the other paw holding a spare tablet he began he waved around in his grip. "These are monopads, your helpful little guide to help with your time here, displaying report cards on your fellow students, any items you've attained, and rules that are very important to know, so pay close attention to that!! Go on, give them a tap and make sure you've gotten the right one : it should display your name on the screen as soon as it powers on."

Hesitantly, Kaede pursed her lips as she stared suspiciously at her monopad, a nervous bead of sweat rolling down her temple ; she tapped the screen with shaking hands and jumped a bit as it lit up, big white letters against a blue background reading Kaede Akamatsu.

"Everyone have theirs? Good, good, now let's get the rule reading started!!" Monokuma quickly moved on once surprisingly everyone had received their own monopad first try, pulling out a pair of wire glasses from supposedly thin air as he began reading from his own monopad.

Rule one : Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of timeRule two : "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. The dining hall is off limits during this time, as are future placesRule three : Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.Rule four : With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the Prison Academy at your discretion.Rule five : Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibitedRule six : Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes a "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.Rule seven : The blackened may only kill two students, if more than that punishment will be given.Rule eight : The body discovery announcement will play once three students discover the victim, culprit not included.Rule nine : The killing game will end when there are two students left.Rules may be added by the Headmaster at any given time.

Monokuma listed these rules and with a cheery wave, wished them a swell killing game, and disappeared, leaving the Ultimates to ponder the horrid information that had been given to them ; the killing school semester had begun.

<| |>


	7. The Aftermath

<| |>

"I will never..." Kaede's voice was trembling, heart feeling painfully empty as it pounded in her chest ; there was no other way to describe this feeling other than despair. Swirling, maddening, desperation that made her feel sick to her core. She couldn't do this, this couldn't be happening : could it? The pianist had barely known these people for an hour, but she already paled from the thought of any of them dying, missing out on there life just as they took the next step forward in. "I will never participate in a killing game..."

"You don't have to." Kaede jumped as a hand was placed on her shoulder, a gruff baritone ringing in her ears. With fearful eyes, she turned around to find an assured Rantaro smiling comfortingly at her, and suddenly her chest didn't feel so hollow.

"We don't have to play this stupid game, we'll outsmart them, find the mastermind." Rantaro explained with a determined glint in his emerald eyes, and Kaede couldn't help but give him a frail smile despite her uncertainty. Something he said caught her attention, however, and she tilted her head forward curiously. "You're right!! But um, what do you mean mastermind...?"

"Well, there has to be someone behind this, right?" Rantaro continued, running a ringed hand through his sage green hair ; Kaede gave him an understanding nod, clasping her hands in front of her chest. Taking a deep breath, his carefree demeanor sharpened as he crossed his arms, seriousness radiating off of him. "And I have reason to believe that it might be one of us in disguise."

"W-Wait, what do you mean?!" Kaede stuttered, inhaling sharply as her face morphed into apprehension, her heart stopping for a heartbeat. Rantaro took note of this and returned to his relaxed state, ruffling her hair like a big brother as a way of comfort. "Don't worry, it's just a hunch anyway- I just thought you'd wanna know."

"Um, thank you, but why me...?" Kaede asked softly, and discord gripped her chest : she didn't want to suspect her friends- friends? No, they were her friends, no matter what Monokuma said!! Still, the thought of one of them betraying her... she wouldn't think about it for now, escape was her main priority.

"I just trust you." Rantaro replied with a smile, and Kaede was immediately taken aback by the bluntness of his words. She felt her face heat up briefly before giving a bright smile, nodding happily at the boy. "I trust you, too, thank you, Rantaro!!"

"It's no problem, Kaede, now we need to find a way out of here." Rantaro mused as he turned to the rest of the distressed group, which Kaede had previously tuned out in her own worries. Everyone seemed to be at least some form of stressed, well, except for the brightly beaming Kokichi and the praying Angie who still wore her sunny smile.

"So, these are the rules, huh? Guess we should memorize them." Ryoma commented with a rueful snort, eyes dull as they fell to the floor. Kirumi was clearly dissatisfied with the explanation they had been given, and her sage eyes bore into the spot Monokuma had been a few minutes earlier. "I simply cannot grasp why we would be put in such a situation, what is the motive behind all of this?"

"Why does it matter? The rules are laid out right in front of us, so let's have some fun!!" Kokichi exclaimed with cheerful laugh, receiving an agitated look from Kirumi. Tenko also seemed to have enough of the purple-haired boy and glared daggers at him, widening her stance in an offensive way. "Who dropped you on the head as a baby, you degenerates are out of your mind- this isn't something to be excited about!!"

"Must you be so loud? You're ruining this delightful aura." Korekiyo reprimanded with an amused chuckle, hugging himself loosely while he seemed to give a close-eyed smile from behind his mask. From beside him, Angie piped up with her clear voice and waved a hand around in the air. "Hey, hey, He wants to know what rule nine means- until two students are left?"

"You couldn't possibly have a trial with two people, could you use some common sense please?" Shuichi shot back in a steely voice, seeming much more icy than before the killing game had been announced : that was understandable, everyone was reeling from shock in their own ways, as well.

"Nyahaha, Angie sees!! Thank you for explaining, dear Shuichi!!" Angie seemed unfazed by Shuichi's rude nature and beamed as she clasped her hands to the side. Completely contrasting the artist's cheerful demeanor, Kaito was grinding his teeth against each other, sweat pouring down his face. "Q-Quit screwing around, this is all bullshit!! Killing game, school regulations, it's all bullshit!! Who the hell would go along with that crap?!"

"Of course not, idiot. You don't have to scream about it though." Maki snapped, shooting a deadly glare at Kaito who surprisingly seemed unfazed, while Kaede flinched just from seeing its intensity. Rantaro nodded in agreement, chuckling roughly as he put his hands on his hips. "She's right, it's not about playing the game : it's too dangerous to disobey him right now so blatantly."

"Forget about that fuckin' simp, just means one less virgin to deal with!!" Miu spat angrily, sneering at the infuriated Kaito while she flipped him off. He pounded his fists together and challenged the strawberry blonde with a loud shout. "What the hell's your problem?!"

"Hey, quit fighting already, this isn't getting us anywhere!!" Kaede announced with an authoritative tone, causing everyone's attention to snap to her. Kaito gave a startled grunt and peered at her inquiringly, while Miu bared her teeth at the lavender-eyed girl. "What the fuck you want, fake tits?!"

"We need to work together, not fight with each other, don't you get it?" Kaede brushed off Miu's rude comment, determined to bring the group together. Sighing, she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and adjusted the strap of her white backpack.

"I know I'd be a lot more inspiring if I played a song instead of giving a speech..." Kaede began, crossing her arms over her chest and squaring her shoulders. She then proceeded to give a smile full of optimism and pumped her fists into the air, raising her voice. "But I know we can do this if we try, please, put aside any differences and let's work together on getting out of here!!"

"Tenko agrees with Kaede, we need to remember who the real enemy is!! Master told Tenko that strength should always be aimed in the right direction!!" Tenko voiced her opinion with a loud yell, swinging her fist through the air and narrowly missing Himiko, ending up just knocking off her hat, which she profusely apologized for.

"Hey, w-watch where you use your melee attacks!!" Himiko complained, although her agitation was overpowered by her trembling form that betrayed her anxiety. "A-All of you are too l-loud, just stay calm, like m-me."

"Wow, you're shaking so much!!" Angie commented mockingly, pressing her hands against her cheeks and puffing them out. Miu quivered from across the auditorium and nervously toyed with her hair, posture worsening for a moment. "Even I can't handle all these vibrations!! And trust me, I've had a lot of experience."

"Um, anyway, why don't we look for an exit again!! Did anyone happen to see something interesting?" Kaede interrupted, not backing down as she called everyone back to her once again. Tsumugi frowned and crossed her arms dishearteningly, gazing with half lidded eyes at the floor. "We looked all over the cage, though, and there weren't any openings..."

"Well, it doesn't have to be as obvious to be in the cage, maybe there's some underground escape route somewhere in the school area?" Kiibo suggested with a raised metallic hand, and continued with a slightly monotone voice. "We had to get in here somehow."

"Oh, that's a really good point!!" Tsumugi exclaimed as she perked up, glasses shining to mirror her excitement. Kaede's features brightened, too, and she eagerly took a step forward. "Then there must be somewhere we can leave, we just have to find it!!"

"Whoever trapped us down here wants us to fight each other, so let's not give into their will, okay?" Rantaro proposed with an eased smile, and Kaede readily nodded in agreement with a large grin. "I couldn't have said it better myself!!"

Suddenly, a wave of silence enveloped the area, and Kaede nervously looked around with pursed lips. "Wh-Why's everyone so quiet all of a sudden, did I say something weird?"

"Actually, it's quite the opposite, Kaede." Kirumi responded with an approving smile, and Kaede blinked at her in confusion, the maid taking this as a sign to continue. "You've rendered us speechless with your words, you're a natural born leader."

"Ahaha, well, you beat me to saying the same thing." Kaito sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his head while he chuckled coarsely ; he perked up though and gave Kaede a winning smile paired with a thumbs up. "You're totally right, though, like hell we're gonna give up that easy!!"

"He says we should totally split up to find an exit!!" Angie chirped as she intertwined her fingers behind her back, beaming brightly. Piping up once again, she swayed her body to the other side, still radiating her carefree demeanor. "Dear Him, give us strength!!"

"Well, I admire your spirit, Angie." Rantaro commented with a sheepish chuckle, ruffling the back of his charmingly messy hair. Suddenly, Gonta perked up almost as if he realized something, mouth opening to call attention to the group. "W-Wait, Gonta has something to say!!"

"Nyeh... what is it, troll. You're powerless when you're away from your bridge, so... make sure not to waste my time." Himiko challenged with a dopey glare, not slumped over for once. Gonta seemed very put off by her comment, even if he didn't quite understand it, and he stumbled over his words more than usual as he replied. "Maybe it don't m-matter much... but Gonta find manhole in grass earlier, behind building."

"A manhole, really?! That's wonderful news, Gonta!!" Kaede exclaimed with sparkling lavender eyes, giving a happy clap of appreciation for Gonta. The entomologist seemed to perk up and gave her a bashful smile, adjusting his glasses as a light blush dusted his face. "Thank you, Kaede ; Gonta peek in and see what maybe a exit!!"

"You should mention stuff like that earlier, degenerate!!" Tenko barked, yapping like an overprotective Pomeranian beside Himiko. Puffing her cheeks out, Kaede gave the other girl a disapproving head shake, which the green-haired girl immediately shrunk back for. "T-Tenko is sorry... don't be mad at her, Kaede!!"

"Everyone, we must act with haste. Let us investigate Gonta's claim." Kirumi injected firmly, being the voice of reason within the rowdy room. "If you may, please lead us to the location, Gokuhara."

"Yes, yes!! Follow Gonta, he guide you!!" Gonta chimed elatedly, smiling like a praised child before heading towards the doorway of the auditorium. Quickly, the group began to hurry after him, although Kaede hung back once she realized Rantaro and Shuichi were still in the room.

"Everyone alright? I know the situation is scary, but we can do it, trust me!!" Kaede cheered them on with resolve glittering in her eyes, walking up to the two, who were a couple feet apart. Rantaro gave a raspy chuckle and gave her a nonchalant wave to ease the pianist's worries. "I'm fine, I was just thinking 'bout what you did back there. That was pretty cool, Kaede."

"Wh-What do you mean?" Kaede questioned with a few blinks, flushing somewhat despite being a little unsure of where the compliment had come from. Rantaro quickly began to answer, laughing breezily as he put his hands on his hips. "You're a real crowd pleaser, I mean. You totally changed the atmosphere, ya gained a lot of respect back there."

"Haha, no way. I'm no good with stuff like that, I just wanted to help everyone out is all." Kaede objected humbly, averting her eyes as she tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear. His smile growing, Rantaro's eyes lit up as he inspected the girl more. "Nah, I'm sure there's more to it : you're a natural born leader. Still..."

Kaede tilted her head in confusion as Rantaro trailed off for a bit, his expression suddenly becoming darker. He quickly followed up, however, as he stared eerily into her eyes. "You have what it takes to win."

"H-Huh?" Kaede stuttered innocently, paling a bit as she suddenly felt a shiver creep up her spine. Rantaro luckily seemed to loosen up, though, and crossed his arms with a calm aura once again. "I'm just saying, whoever is running this whole show probably isn't happy with what you did. They definitely want to split the group apart, which you're working hard to prevent from happening. You're gonna be their biggest target, Kaede, just thought I'd let you know."

"Why tell me all of this...?!" Kaede questioned with a hint of her rising frustration, thoroughly put off by the ominous, but likely true words. Rantaro exhaled slowly before giving a smile that just happened to have a soothing affect on her, patting her on the back as he began to walk out of the auditorium. "Just worried for you is all, but I know you're strong : you've got this."

Completely baffled, Kaede turned around with a hanging jaw as she watched Rantaro's form disappear into the hallway, a feeling of foreboding clawing up from her stomach and into her chest. Gulping, she forced a flimsy smile, letting out a strained laugh. "...And there he goes ; I think it'd do him better to be a little less cryptic."

"Hmph, really? I think it was quite obvious : he's warning you not to be so... you." Kaede jumped as a familiar cold voice addressed her, and she whirled back around to find Shuichi glowering at her. "Being so foolish can really come back to bite you in a situation like this."

"Ah, yeah..." Kaede crossed her arms and looked to the ground, pursing her lips into a thin line. She had to admit, Kokichi's words had stuck with her, not to mention Shuichi seemed even colder now than before ; it felt like they had been making progress, but she guessed not.

"Let's just go- if you're so intent on being leader, you wouldn't want to be left behind." Shuichi spat before marching out in front of Kaede, leaving her dazed and disheartened. Sucking in a deep breath, she cleared her head and followed after him, determined to not let any negative comments deter her.

Walking down the deteriorating halls was quite the challenge, some dents in the flooring filled with water that soaked Kaede's stockings. She grumbled under her breath but still trailed after the group, Shuichi's words having more affect on her than she wanted. The blonde would've ran, but she wanted to conserve energy for whatever trials they had next.

Kaede even encountered trees as she walked through the halls, stopping for a moment to skeptically observe them before chasing after the others, finally catching up to fall into step by none other than Kokichi himself. She had hoped he wouldn't notice him, but Akamatsu should've known the purple-haired boy's perceptive eyes would've noticed her.

"Ohohoho, Goldilocks just so happens to walk beside me? I suppose my charm must have you entranced already!!" Kokichi teased as he wriggled his eyebrows at Kaede suggestively, who huffed and rolled her eyes at him. She could tell he would get on her nerves, but his playful demeanor was a welcome change compared to Shuichi's iciness.

"I'm surprised you're at the back, Kokichi : would've thought you'd be skipping past Gonta, since you probably knew about the possible escape and just held the information from us." Kaede retorted rather smoothly if she could say so herself, although Kokichi didn't seem to think so as he chuckled impishly, not a single thing slipping past his porcelain mask.

"Silly, silly!! I want to get out of here just as much as you do, Goldilocks, why would you think otherwise?!" Kokichi shot Kaede a teary, puppy-eyed look, sticking out his lip childishly. She couldn't help the snort that escaped her at his expression, although she quickly forced a frown and covered her mouth, cheeks burning feverishly.

"Hmm, I dunno. It couldn't possibly be the way you portray yourself all the time!!" Kaede shot back with a mocking shrug of her shoulders, and as Kokichi gave a quiet giggle, she couldn't help but be proud that she'd amused him. A brief moment of silence passed between them before they exited the school building, and the lavender-eyed girl had to shield her gaze as she winced at the sudden bright light.

"What, are you a NEET, Goldilocks? Can't handle the sun?" Kokichi piped up with a devilish smirk crossing his features, and she blinked frantically to regain her vision. Afterwards, she shot him a skeptical look, raising an eyebrow at the extremely pale boy. "Seriously? You're gonna say that when you look like you've never been outside in your life?"

"Oh, your words wound me so!!" Kokichi wailed dramatically, wiping an imaginary tear from his snow white cheeks while he fanned his face with his other hand. Kaede shook her head with a close eyed smile, playfully nudging him with her elbow. "So you're not gonna refute the fact you're probably a vampire?"

"You know, now that you've uncovered my most dangerous secret, I'll have to kill you now." Kokichi shot back with a mischievous grin, although his lips seemed to curl downwards as he momentarily touched the spot where he'd been touched by Kaede. Worry crossed her mind at his displeased reaction, and the pianist aimed to ask what was wrong and maybe apologize, when they finally reached their location.

A pale red door, nearly pink, stood before them, and a sinking feeling enveloped Kaede's gut as she had a sudden intuition that this wouldn't the exit they were hoping desperately for.

<| |>


	8. Death Road of Despair

<| |>

Kaede entered what appeared to be a boiler like room, looking like a miniature park at the same time, with multiple trees, vines creeping down the walls, and weeds covering the floor, constantly battling for the sunlight that poured through the roofless building ; there were only skeletal remains of what would've supported a roof. Contrasting the ruin-like area, there were nitro blue machines in the background, and a ringed light fixture that looked like it belonged in a scientific lab.

"Looks like we're here- say, where's the manhole, Gonta?" Rantaro smoothed a hand through his messy bangs and surveyed the area, keeping an eased smile on his face all the while. Gonta blinked owlishly at the other male before getting the gist of it, and quickly stepped over to point at, what of course seemed to be a manhole cover. "Ah, over here!!"

Kaede followed his gesture, and indeed there was, a bronze-gold manhole cover that held the same symbol that marked the front of the prison academy. Sauntering up behind the pianist, Miu let out a loud cackle, making the other girl wince as spittle rained into her hair. "An important hole near a bush, eh? Sounds familiar, right ladies?!"

"He says this looks quite heavy, can we lift it?" Angie piped up with a frown that looked out of place on her features, completely brushing back Miu's comment, who looked downtrodden at this. Kiibo took a prideful step forward and placed a hand on his metallic chest, calling the others to attention. "May I try?"

Leaning down awkwardly, he fumbled to grip the edges of manhole cover, groaning as he pulled back with all his might. Giving an electronic sigh, he straightened back up and threw his hands in the air with exasperation. "How embarrassing : it won't even budge!!"

"What what what? Even a robot is not strong enough to pry it open?" Angie exclaimed in surprise, cupping her cheeks while she peered with ocean blue eyes at Kiibo. He didn't seem all too flustered by his defeat, however, and turned to the shorter girl. "Oh, no need to fret. My physical strength is approximately that of a strong senior citizen."

"Are you for fuckin real?! I can do better than that, meet later tonight for a time you won't forget!!" Miu barked, seemingly determined to redo what Kiibo's creator had apparently failed in. Finally looking nervous, his ahoge withered a bit as he fiddled with his fingers. "W-Well, the professor didn't want a repeat of what happened during the trial run."

"Well, now I'm just plain curious to hear about what happened during that trial. I bet it could be interesting enough to form an anime plot about!!" Tsumugi chirped from her corner of the room, startling a few that were around her, who forgot she was there due to not standing out that much.

"Gonta could try!!" Gonta commented as he approached the manhole cover, seeming quite confident. "He peeked in before, should be able to pick up cover again, too."

Gonta lifted the manhole cover like the cap to a water bottle, and several students let out awed gasps at the feat. With a light tone, he shot the others a bashful smile and awkwardly held the object. "Upsy-daisy!!"

"He did that with such ease...!!" Tsumugi breathed in astonishment, glasses drooping a bit on her featured messily. Himiko pursed her lips and regarded Gonta with dull eyes, perhaps showing jealousy through her facial expressions. "All thanks to my magic, for sure..."

"Ahh, you're amazing, Himiko!!" Tenko gushed at Himiko with a hand over her heart, and Kaede couldn't help but give a somewhat irritated sigh with a roll of her eyes. "I don't think she really had anything to do with it." 

"What should Gonta do with cover now?" Gonta asked tentatively, looking around with doe-like eyes as the metal dangled in his effortless grip. Kirumi softly stepped forward to guide him, gesturing to a wall near the entrance, an appreciative smile on her dark lips. "You may set it near the entrance, if you will. Please be careful not to hit anyone with it."

"But... Gonta can't do that, it not okay to litter." Gonta objected with an uncertain look settling onto his face, seemingly wanting to listen to Kirumi but still letting basic manners to hold him back. Still, there was no other place to safely put it, so he reluctantly tossed it to the side, the disc whipping through the air and banging against the wall near the exit, leaving a pronounced dent in the material.

"Kehehe, what impressive strength ; you could crush a child's skull with ease." Korekiyo added with an amused chuckle, twirling a strand of hair in between his bandaged, slender fingers. Gonta quickly whirled around to gape at the thin boy, obviously unsettled by the anthropologist's claim. "Gonta would never do that, that not gentlemen like at all!!"

"Gentlemen or not, no one should do that!!" Tenko interjected, grimacing with apparent disgust at the thought. Kokichi didn't seem so put off, however, and checked into the conversation as he crossed his arms behind his head. "Still, he's wayyy more reliable than that senile old robot!!"

"Are you... addressing me? Because I have the mind of a learning adolescent." Kiibo responded hesitantly, pursing his lips into a grimace as he blankly stared at Kokichi. Shaking her head at the bantering crew, Kaede stepped forward and peeked into the manhole cover, searching eyes intent on finding any signs of an exit. It was much too dark to see inside clearly, but I could still feel a draft that brushed my blonde hair out of my face.

"Kind of creepy, don't you think...?" Tsumugi mumbled as she shuffled up to stand beside Kaede, grimacing at the idea of going down there. Kaede sent her a frail smile that quickly morphed into a convincing supportive grin, doing her best to make the other feel safer. "Don't worry, we all have each other, you're not alone!!"

"Yes, I suppose it is a very nice idea I'll have such a protagonist-like girl backing me up!!" Tsumugi agreed with an appreciative bat of her eyelashes in Kaede's direction, an adoring smile gracing her features. Eyes sparkling, Kaede nodded to further her point as Kaito voiced his conviction from the background, too. "I'm pretty sure it'll be fine, we for sure won't die down there!!"

"Whatever braindead male, you and your kind are on your own, but Tenko will protect the wonderful girls with her life!!" Tenko piped up, once again sticking like glue to Himiko as she sent Kaito a venomous glower. Gonta seemed to take her words literally, although Kaede had a feeling the fighter would put her grudges aside when real danger came. "Oh, then... Gonta will protect menfolk!!"

"It's awfully quiet, Monokuma would probably guard this if it was important- right?" Rantaro mused with a pensive stare, fiddling with one of his many silver rings in thought. Korekiyo let out a soft noise of partnership to the other green-haired male, a frown perhaps peeking from behind his mask. "Indeed, you would think he would swarm to this location like gnats on a cadaver."

"They probably haven't noticed us yet, let us make haste!!" Angie exclaimed optimistically, radiating with energy as her tone took on a song-like quality. Kokichi had his own cheerful gleam in his eyes as he skipped up to stand beside the girl, both looking like excited toddlers during Halloween. "Yeah yeah!! Hurry up before they come and booother us!!"

And so, one by one they descended down the ladder, Tenko making sure the girls went first so the boys, or 'degenerates' as she called them, wouldn't look up the females' skirts. We were met with something that looked like a combination between a bunker and a non-filthy sewer underground area.

"A lot more spacious than I thought'd be." Ryoma commented, viewing the area with his onyx eyes and a dead fish-like expression. Kokichi seemed all but bothered by the situation and gave an excited shout, beaming as his voice echoed back to him. Maki shot him a festering glare and kept the expression as she inspected the underground room suspiciously, lips curled down into a sharp frown. "What the hell is this place?"

"I suspect this is an industrial passageway, perhaps a factory once was placed here?" Kirumi responded with a thoughtful glance, and Kaito finished her idea with a click of his tongue. "Then this must be what's left of them."

"Hey, Kaede, take a look at this." Rantaro beckoned Kaede to him and she obediently obeyed, peeking curiously over his shoulder while a few others glanced their way as well. "What is it?"

Kaede immediately emitted a gasp once her gaze spotted the cliche, wooden exit sign that pointed to an extremely large cavern. Her stomach flipped and the blonde's breath caught in her throat, shock coursing through her veins. Was it really this easy to escape? If it was, amazing!! If it wasn't... well she hoped that she wouldn't have to consider the latter.

"Oh, how considerate... apparently the exit is through there." Rantaro's smile didn't seem to reach his eyes as he likely had the more intense version of the doubt Kaede pushed aside. Sending him a worried look, she did her best to give a positive aura and ecstatically skipped towards the possible escape. "That's amazing, our luck must be really good!!"

"K-Kaede, sorry to doubt you, but um..." Tenko started nervously, wincing as she forced herself to doubt the female she already admired so much. "Don't you think it's kind of weird someone just wrote that there when we've been captured so, er, efficiently?"

"Bahaha, don't piss yourself in fear, lesbo- pretty sure no one has a kink for that except Kokichi!!" Miu chortled, holding her stomach as she bellowed laughter, leaving Tenko to flush furiously. "M-Miu, Tenko doesn't appreciate that, it makes her very uncomfortable!!"

"Well then, let's go. No point in hanging around." Rantaro interjected, shrugging his shoulders casually before waltzing up to the entrance, at Kaede's side once again. Shuichi grunted in annoyed agreement, covering his mouth with the palm of his clammy hand. "Exactly, we need to stop wasting time."

"Alright, no need to worry then, let's get moving ; nothing will happen or be discovered if we just worry about it!!" Kaede pressured with a determined clap of her hands, marching forward and intending to lead the way for the group, hopefully providing reassurance to any nervous teens. Kaito let out a low whistle, shaking his head with an amused grin before clapping Akamatsu on the back. "Stealing the words right out of my mouth, are you, Kaede? C'mere, gimme a hug!!"

"Stand back, degenerate!!" Tenko hissed, quickly dashing forward to stand in front of Kaede protectively and pointing an accusatory finger in Kaito's face. "You're just trying to trap her into a lewd situation, you scum!!"

"Um, thank you, Tenko." Kaede replied as her eyes darted to the side, honestly feeling a little suspicious of the same thing, as well as being a little frustrated with Kaito for constantly claiming to be about to say the same thing as her all the time. Pushing past the pointless ruckus, the pianist puffed her chest out and prepared herself to enter the passage, determined to escape with everyone safely.

Rushing water met Kaede's ears as she pushed forward, the first blockade being a large metal gate, but one that didn't look too challenging. It was easy to come to a quick solution as she turned to everyone, gesturing at the iron structure. "Come on, it should be easy if we all push it together!!"

"Good idea, Kaede." Rantaro sent Kaede a pleased nod that sent her heart floating with pride while she began to push on the cool surface, grimacing as her heels dug into the cobble. She could hear Himiko's groans and complaints, with Tenko being ever supportive of the magician, somehow finding desirability in the lazy girl.

After a bit of effort, Gonta helping the process along quite nicely, they were able to progress. There seemed to be blue sensors they could slip by, and Kaede was about to mention it to the group when Kaito let out a shout and shoved her aside. "Just watch this, the Luminary of the Stars will do this with ease!!"

"W-Wait, Kaito, watch out!!" Kaede exclaimed, but it was in vain as Kaito rushed forward, only for the floor to open up beneath him and scorch him with a small, but concentrated flame. It caught his awkwardly worn jacket on fire, and he let out a panicked curse as he fell, only to have the stream of hopefully clean water put it out before any damage was made.

"There the idiot goes." Maki remarked with a slight hint of amusement in her crimson gaze, Kaito thrashing around in the water, and being safely taken back to the start. Kaede gaped in horror as she watched the astronaut disappear back to the beginning, but was knocked out of her startled daze when Harukawa rudely pushed past her, similar to how Momota had done a few moments ago. "He's fine, come on."

Huffing sourly as she glared at Maki, Kaede reluctantly followed after her, watching as the twin-tailed girl nimbly dodged what could possibly dangerous explosives. Gritting her teeth, she barely slid past, the blast of one being set off and charring her skirt. Tsumugi wasn't fast enough, however, and with a pained cry, she was sent the same way Kaito had been.

"No, hold on-!!" Kaede exclaimed as she dove to reach out for the other's hand, but was violently yanked back to narrowly avoid another explosive by none other than a glaring Maki. When she shot the brunette a confused look, she just rolled her eyes and let go, continuing on with the treacherous course. Giving an exasperated sigh, the lavender-eyed girl forced herself to trust the fact that her friends were okay and continued to trail after the more athletic students.

It continued like this for quite a while, and finally, Kaede's memories muddled together, swirling into a darkness until she felt cool pavement under her back. Vision fazing in and out, she groaned and rubbed the back of her head, body sore and battered as she sat up. Did she... lose consciousness? Finally, the blending colors formed into a particular shape, and the blonde inhaled sharply as she jolted back.

"O-Oh, Kirumi?" Kaede stumbled over her words as she blushed faintly at the worried face of Kirumi inspecting her form, a gloved hand supporting her back. After a few heartbeats, the maid made sure the other girl was well and continued to hover near her. "Ah, you're awake- are you alright?"

"I'm... I-I'm fine, but is everyone else alright?" Kaede questioned tensely, trying to scramble to her feet, but a firm but gentle Kirumi held her down. "I'm sorry, but please don't over exert yourself. Everyone is alright, but as worn out as yourself."

"Okay..." Kaede reluctantly obeyed and looked around to confirm that everyone was okay, finding Kirumi to be true to her word. Everyone was slightly bruised and scratched, but no truly dangerous injuries on anyone in particular, the more athletic students being much less exhausted ; the pianist couldn't help but notice that Maki seemed unscathed.

"Geeze, you limp sadsacks are really throwing quite the pity party, huh?" Kaede emitted a startled yelp as she finally got to her feet to face a smug looking Monokuma, and hatred immediately began to burn in her chest. "Wh-What do you want, Monokuma?!"

"Guess you finally noticed what we're up to, huh? Well we still won't let you fucking stopped us!!" Kaito growled, clenching his fists as he bared his teeth at the dual-colored bear. Monokuma seemed unfazed as he tilted his head to the side, blinking at the purple-haired male blankly. "Noticed, you say? Why, it hurts me oh so much that you think I wouldn't have spotted you with all the ruckus you were making!!"

"You knew about this all along?!" Kaede exclaimed in apprehension, body seizing up as she paled significantly. Maki clicked her tongue and stared daggers at Monokuma, speaking in a venomous tone. "So, this was just a trap, then?"

"So there wasn't an exit, you just tricked us!!" Tenko spat angrily, pulling back her fist as if she was going to throw a punch, animosity flowing off of her in waves ; Maki rolled her eyes in annoyance and shot a fierce look the other girl's way. "You can't just repeat what I said to try and sound smart."

"Nonono, there is an exit!!" Monokuma refuted with an animated shake of his head, causing Shuichi to stare at him incredulously. "Hmph, for some reason I doubt that."

"There really is an exit, just try and try until you except reality!!" Monokuma exclaimed with a cackle, holding his stomach as his body shook with laughter. With that, he vanished into thin air, his amusement rebounding off of the walls to haunt the ultimates for a few moments more.

A beat of chilling silence crossed between the teens as desperation threatened to overflow from Kaede, grimacing as she glared with burning eyes down at the rusted ground. Himiko seemed out of the loop, however, and her drowsy voice proposed a question to all of them. "Nyeh... so that means if we try hard enough we can leave, right?"

"No way you fuckin' moron, they would've blocked it off if we could actually reach it!!" Miu snarled, making a crude gesture with her hand and causing Tenko to defensively stare down the inventor, although seeming hesitant at the idea of being mean to another girl.

"That's probably why they made it so obvious, to induce despair." Ryoma grumbled in his baritone voice, pulling down his hat to cast shadows on his face. Rantaro let out a airy sigh, shaking his head before agreeing with the other male. "They leave that little bit of hope just to be crushed... ugh, knew there was something off about that 'exit.' They're trying to corner us mentally to influence the desperation to get out of here ; trying to kick start the killing game, it looks like."

"That's... that's terrible!!" Tsumugi choked out, brow moist with sweat as the cosplayer threatened to collapse. After hearing all of this go on, Kaede slowly recollected herself and tried to form a plan that would benefit everyone. She wanted to keep trying, to keep pushing, her lungs burning for the need to get out of here ; however, looking at the tired and drained teenagers around her, along with moonlight pouring in from the top of the ladder...

"Everyone." Kaede's voice at this point had become a well known source that snapped everyone's attention to her, and the fifteen pairs of eyes landing on her made her uncertainty thunder even more in her psyche. Still, she had to make this choice, for the better of everyone. It was for the best, wasn't it?

"I think... that maybe, we should try- we should try again tomorrow!! It's not going anywhere right? No point in risking getting ourselves seriously hurt!!" Kaede's voice started out frail but became more unstable as she announced her proposal, and to her relief, most seemed completely fine with her opinion. She even heard Tenko give a relieved sigh of relief, likely because of Himiko's slumped form, who she was desperately trying to get to lean on her, which seemed to just aggravate the smaller girl ; Akamatsu even thought she saw Kokichi giving her an approving glance.

A few, though, were not too happy.

"What the hell, Kaede, we can't give up now, we need to keep going!!" More specifically, Kaito was not too happy. Kaede blinked with wide eyes at the red-faced boy, feeling too flustered to come up with a proper response : luckily, she had backup.

"Hmmm, Angie thinks Kaito should calm down. Wouldn't want to get hurt now, would we?" Angie questioned with an innocent tilt of her head, swaying her body from side to side. Before Kaito could give an enraged counter, the little ball of surprisingly forceful sunshine continued, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Kaito is so convinced we should continue, but wasn't Kaito the one who fell first, and has been pretty ill-looking since?"

"D-Damn it...!!" Kaito hissed a quiet curse as he stiffened greatly, but staying silent otherwise. With a victorious 'nyahaha', Angie clapped happily and beamed at the male. "Atua appreciates your amiability, Kaito, please relax and take in the fresh air- you look awfully pale right now!!"

With that, the group slowly began to disperse, the boys being forced to go up first, of course, all thanks to Tenko. This sadly prevented Kaede from meeting up with Shuichi, who had been avoiding interaction with anyone the entire time, only speaking to let out an angry shout when Kokichi stole his hat while they were filing out, and scrambling up the ladder, apparently inspiring a full out chase between the two.

Kaede was one of the last ones to leave, only Kirumi behind her, and was moving to leave when she noticed the slender girl hanging back. Curiously studying the maid, she walked over to the other and carefully called out to her.

"Hey, Kirumi, are you coming?" Kaede inquired pleasantly, and the aforementioned female tilted her head the other's way, and Kirumi gave her a soft smile. "Ah, I am just debating on whether we should close the entrance in case someone falls. It would be terrible if someone got hurt via the open manhole."

"O-Oh, yeah, that is a problem." Kaede's gaze dropped to the manhole cover a few feet away from the desired destination, and when she turned around to hopefully call for Gonta, it seemed the group had already moved quite a bit away. Kirumi seemed to notice the other's revelation and took a step towards the metal disc. "It seems the others have made considerable progress across the path ; I believe with your help I can move this, will you aid me?"

"Er, of course, I'm not very athletic, but I'd be glad to help!!" Kaede's lips formed a sweet smile and came to Kirumi's side, steeling herself before bending over and picking up the cover, immediately wincing from the weight. Despite her lithe appearance, the sage-eyed female was quite well built, and it wasn't exactly impossible to lift it a few inches off the ground. They still shuffled bit by bit to the opening, and cautiously set into place, leaving the pianist to stretch with a relieved exhalation. "Phew, that was some work, we make a pretty good team, though!!"

"Indeed we do, Kaede. Thank you very much for helping me." Kirumi gave a graceful bow of gratitude, causing Kaede's face to heat up quite quickly at the odd but heart-skipping gesture. Bursting out in sheepish laughter, the blonde adjusted the strap of her backpack and averted her eyes bashfully. "No problem, I'm... I'm glad to help!!"

"Well, you're a very kind person, then." Kirumi straightened back up, much to Kaede's flustered relief, and gestured towards the exit, going to hold the door once again for the girl. Grinning brightly, she nodded ecstatically and walked past the maid, politely waiting for the other girl to catch up. As soon as Tojo stepped out, the lavender-eyed girl felt the color appear on her face once again, the moonlight reflecting off of her silver hair beautifully and making Akamatsu's stomach turn into a whirlpool.

"Is something the matter?" Kirumi's velvety voice snapped Kaede back out of her daze, and she tried to hide her furious blush, tucking her golden hair behind her ears. Spinning on her heel, hands clasped behind her back, she quickened her pace and lead the way. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, let's go!!"

"Of course, Kaede." Kirumi amiably followed after her, falling into step with Kaede, and the maid drifted like a gorgeous ghost floating beside her. A comfortable, almost enchanting haze had befallen them, and it almost felt like the lavender-eyed girl was walking in a dream ; with every step she thanked the earth for giving her the wonderful angels known as women.

Finally, they entered the dormitory, and Kaede awkwardly gave a wave as she hovered by the door of her room. She and Kirumi shared a comfortable pause, giving soft smiles to each other before bidding each other goodnight.

"Goodnight, Kirumi, sleep tight!!" Kaede chirped with a sunny grin, radiating warmth, while Kirumi gave a smooth smile, soothing cool waves flowing off of her : the sun and the moon. "Rest well, Kaede, I'll see you tomorrow."

And just like, the first day of their life at the Prison Academy came to an end.

<| |>


	9. The First Blood Perk

<| |>

It was comfortable, nice, and Kaede murmured softly as she rolled over to hug a pillow to her chest, her brief resurface to consciousness beginning to pass while she dozed off again. She could rest here for quite a while, a faint tune of Claire De Lune ringing through her mind : reality didn't seem to want to allow this, though.

A sickly sweet bell ripped Kaede out of her slumber as her body jolted awake, yelping as she scrambled to sit up, looking around frantically. An unfamiliar sight greet her, something resembling a luxury hotel room presenting itself, the themes red, dark grey, and light grey appearing several times. Velvet red sheets underneath her with a comfortable pillow, a red chair pushed into a black desk with a notepad, a living area with a tv that only played killing game propaganda, a plush red chair, a built in closet, a personal bathroom, and finally the inescapable monitor Monokuma flickered to life on.

"Goood morning, students!! This is an official announcement from the Ultimate Prison Academy, it is now 8 a.m. ; time to wake up and face the day!!" Monokuma exclaimed with a shrill pleasantness, his cheeriness grating against Kaede's dazed nerves as she blinked dumbly at the screen. With a last little wave, the announcement ended and left the girl to quite the rude awakening.

"What... what is this...?" Kaede breathed in disorientation, before a chilling fear grabbed her heart and she was doused with metaphorical ice water. Hands digging into the covers she sat on, her breath became rugged as panic clawed its way through her, the reality settling in rather unpleasantly. She was in a killing game, trapped, pitted against wonderful people and forced to commit murder to escape.

Kaede stumbled to the background with a hand cupping her mouth, ten minutes passing as she became physically sick, immediately beginning to sob afterwards. This was awful, too awful, she couldn't handle it- she just couldn't!! Shakily deciding to get into the shower and attempt to wash away this filthy despair coating her, another twenty minutes passed before she came out, taking one of the endless identical uniforms consisting of a white long sleeved shirt, a light purple vest, a darker hot pink skirt with musical notes on it, light purple thigh high socks, and silver music note hair pins.

It took a minute to dry her hair, and not to mention dry her tears, but finally she was able to leave : or at least try to. With a shaky stature, she put on her white backpack with her monopad in it, and held room keys in her clammy hands, taking a deep breath before exiting the room and locking the door behind her. She exited into an empty dormitory, and let out a sharp inhalation when she realized they had all agreed to meet in the dining hall, which she was undoubtedly late for. Rushing out of the building, Kaede blindly jogged to the Academy, wincing and blocking her gaze from the sun, but in the momentary blindness, she made a clumsy, early morning encounter.

"O-Ow!!" A feminine yelp met Kaede's ears as she stumbled backwards, and she instinctively reached out to catch a falling Tsumugi just in time. Clutching the other's forearms, the blonde gaped before worriedly checking over her, beginning to spew out muddled apologies. "Oh my gosh, Tsumugi, I-I'm so sorry, I should've watched where I was going, I'm really sorry-!!"

"Ah, it's fine, I understand I'm too plain to plain to see sometimes." Tsumugi dismissed with an airy laugh, brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt daintily. Kaede instantly frown as the other girl put herself down, and keeping a firm grip on the other she shook her head assertively. "Don't say that, you're so pretty and I really love your personality!!"

"Wow, you really know what to say to a girl, huh, Kaede?" Tsumugi responded with a faint blush, fixing her glasses with before giving a close-eyed smile. Kaede gave a crooked grin and finally let go of the blue-haired girl, only to sling an arm around the other's shoulder, guiding the other towards the meet up spot. "Ahaha, yep!! Now, let me smooothly guide you to the dining hall ; I took a shower, but why are you late?"

"Oh, I'll admit, I've been a bit nervous. I felt a bit claustrophobic going into the Academy." Tsumugi explained with a downcast smile, and Kaede rubbed the other's shoulder in attempt to reassure her. She could understand Shirogane's notion, she herself probably would've been nervous if she hadn't been lucky enough to bump into another person, interaction being one of the things the pianist drew energy from- including piano, of course!!

"Don't worry, I'm here with you!! And if you want, we can go outside later and talk." Kaede told her with bright smile, and she was happy to see Tsumugi loosen up with a relieved look. She nodded in agreement, seeming to appreciate the support as they entered the building. "Thank you, you're a real hero, Kaede!!"

"Aww, I'm glad!!" Kaede replied, although she couldn't help but blush from embarrassment at the sentiment, heart buzzing with pride. She and Tsumugi chatted idly for the rest of the walk, finally arriving at the bustling dining hall. When she opened the door, the blonde girl was left to stare in shock at the gorgeous feast laid out in front of her. Everyone was there and seated already, a few open spots there and nothing too cramped.

"W-Woah, look at all of this- who??" Kaede stuttered out in a barely intelligible sentence as she stared in wonder at the display, and Kirumi gave a humble bow of gratitude. "That was me, I'm glad you seem to like it, Kaede, good morning by the way."

"It seems the last of us have arrived." Korekiyo stopped Kaede from spluttering another response, cat-like eyes observing both her and Tsumugi calmly. "Kehehe, how delightful... no one has seemed to perish overnight."

"Ooh, goldilocks, goldilocks, sit by me!!" Kokichi enthusiastically waved Kaede over and patted the seat beside him, the female hesitantly taking the seat. She sent him an awkward smile to which he responded with a lopsided grin, then proceeding to slap on the table childishly. Miu sent him an aggravated glare and slammed her own hands down on the table, getting out of her seat to get in the supreme leader's face. "Calm the fuck down, you batshit twink, I'm trying to eat!!"

"Ohhh shut up, cumbucket, you're experienced in choking anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem if I startle you!!" Kokichi shot back, causing Miu to whimper and shrink back into her seat, shivering weakly. "D-Damn, you're rough...!!"

"Stop being so loud, idiots." Maki growled in annoyance, sending a bone chilling glare their way, Kokichi unaffected while Miu started to sweat profusely. Kaito, on the other hand, gave the crimson-eyed girl a disapproving shake of his head from beside her, to which she arched a challenging glare. "Come on, don't be like that, Maki Roll, even if you're not a morning person!!"

"Don't call me that, idiot." Maki snapped back, Kaito giving her an unfazed grin before taking a swig of his orange juice. "Sure thing, Maki Roll!!"

"Tenko says good morning to Kaede!!" Tenko chirped with a vibrant wave sent Kaede's way, and the blonde girl gave her a cheerful wave back. Next to her, Himiko was nearly at the point of falling face first in her cereal, to which a stiff Kiibo awkwardly stopped from happening with a metallic hand on her shoulder ; apparently the robot didn't count as a male to Chabashira.

Kaede popped a grape into her mouth as she surveyed the table ; Rantaro and Ryoma seemed to be chatting quietly, the former being much more talkative ; Kirumi traveled back and forth from the kitchen to the dining hall, new dishes appearing each time with an insistent Gonta making sure he was able to help her ; finally her gaze landed on a silent Shuichi, surrounded by gloom as he seemed deep in thought, and the lavender-eyed girl made a mental note to check in with him later.

"Make sure to thank Him before you eat, everyone!!" Angie piped up from her spot near the end of the table, face morphed into a close-eyed smile as she intertwined her hands before her. Several Ultimates rolled their eyes and voiced their complaints, but Korekiyo's gaze flashed with interest as he leaned towards the artist. "He sounds like a very unique deity, Angie, would you mind explaining Him to me?"

"Of course, He welcomes all to be saved, let Angie inform you!!" Angie gave an overjoyed clap and launched into a spirited rant to Korekiyo, who quietly invested himself into her words. Tsumugi had quietly taken a spot beside Kaede, and only now did the blonde girl notice that the other had been rambling on about some anime the entire time, and she forced herself to tune in as best she could without letting Shirogane know she hadn't been paying attention.

"O-Oh, yeah, I get it!!" Kaede injected shakily, and her worries were in vain since Tsumugi seemed to be so into her originally one-sided conversation, she remained oblivious to the other's participation- or lack there of. Kokichi didn't seem too keen on how the cosplayer had stolen away the pianist's attention, and with a pouting huff he reached out.

"O-Ow, what the-?!" Kaede yelped as Kokichi tugged roughly on her hair, tears of pain pricking her eyes, and Tsumugi finally noticed a discrepancy, letting out a shocked gasp. "Oh my, Kaede, are you alright?!"

"Come on, barbie doll, forget the plain slut and play with meeee!!" Kokichi whined, and Kaede yanked herself out of the boy's grasp, whirling around to scowl ferociously at him. He smiled innocently as she winced and rubbed her scalp, going to jab Ouma in the chest. "What was that for?! If you wanted my attention, you could've just tapped me on the shoulder!!"

"But that would've been boring." Kokichi stated in a matter of fact tone, snickering impishly as he tauntingly reached out to twirl a strand of Kaede's hair in between his fingers, and she quickly slapped his hand away. Akamatsu was finally agitated immensely by the smaller teen, and could officially say her mood for the morning had been soured, if a killing game couldn't do that well enough. Before she could shoot an angered response at the purple-haired boy, however, an unpleasant headmaster prevented this from happening as he appeared on the table, knocking over a few plates of food in the process.

"Good morning, vietnaaam!!" Monokuma drawled with a flourish of his arms, and the students acted accordingly ; several emitted cries of shock, while Kirumi began to clean up the mess with a frown, Kaede swiftly moving to help the other girl. The silver-haired female got rid of the scattered food, and the blonde stood up with the somehow undamaged plates to send the ghastly bear a vengeful glare. "What are you doing here, Monokuma? Other than to say overused phrases, I mean."

"Well well well, miss feisty, I just so happen to have an announcement to make." Monokuma replied with his usual snide grin, hot hatred bubbling up in Kaede's chest at the nonchalant tone he took with her. She widened her stance and defensively stared down the mysterious being, hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, unwilling to back down. "I don't think we want to hear anything you have to say."

"Don't go making dumb decisions for the rest of us." Maki hissed suddenly, and Kaede flinched in surprise at the fact her opinion had been opposed, originally thinking they were all on the same page about Monokuma : of course Maki wasn't. Rantaro was astonishingly on Harukawa's side as well, though, and he gave the pianist an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Kaede, but she's right- we don't have to follow the rules, but it's good to know them for safety."

"Yes yes, mister Amami seems to get the gist of it!!" Monokuma barked a harsh laughter before his red eye gleamed ominously, and Kaede had doubts about whether it was worth hearing this or not. The bear adopted a mockingly sympathetic tone as he tilted his head, holding his paws to perhaps attempt to appear cuter. "I understand that it must be sooo hard to kill, so I've come up with something to, hm, motivate you a bit."

"Motivate...?" Himiko questioned anxiously, wringing her sweaty hands as her chocolate eyes peered dully at Monokuma. He nodded profusely, seeming to vibrate with excitement as his sneer widened with bloodlust. "Yeppers!! A wonderful, fantastic, magical motive!! Ahh it just gets my blood boiling thinking of what I have planned...!!"

"Just get on with it already, stop stalling." Maki ordered tersely, seeming tense and ready to tear off Monokuma's head at any moment. Waving her off, but still seeming to comply, his odd voice spoke the bone chilling words he was so eager to announce. "Ooh here we go here we goooo!!"

"The first brilliant motive I will present you with will be... the First Blood Perk!!" Monokuma snarled out the name of the motive, the First Blood Perk already drawing out unsettled reactions from the Ultimates around him. He spread out his arms to give the most dangerous grin yet, pointed fangs glinting ferociously in the light of the dining hall. "Miraculously, the first murder that occurs, the blackened will get off scott free : meaning no class trial will be held!! It's a kill one, get out free kind of deal, coming and going only this once- take it or leave it, because I'm feeling generous this killing game!!"

"So... no class trial will be held?" Maki parroted, seemingly too interested for Kaede's comfort, and she cast the brunette a suspicious frown, momentarily protected from reeling in horror. Monokuma seemed happy to answer, and swayed to the side, humming a funeral march tune before opening his murderous mouth. "Yeahhh, sorry for making class trials seem so much more important than they really are, but for the first murder there won't be one at all!!"

"Just relax, chill, and indulge in the thrill of the kill- say it with me now, have a wonderful killing school semester!!" With that, Monokuma left the students to their devices once again, leaving a stomach churning feeling of strain floated in the air.

"So... all we've gotta do is kill one of these chumps to get out of this hellhole?" Miu questioned timidly, knees nearly buckling in fright, but a hungry gleam flashing in her sky blue eyes. Kiibo jolted in apprehension and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head vigorously. "P-Please just calm down, Miu, doing that sort of thing is illogical!!"

"Ugh, it sounds like some sort of awful game show bonus...!!" Tenko groaned, clutching her head as she a bead of sweat dribbled down from her brow. Kokichi tilted his head curiously at her, before grinning devilishly and putting his hands on his hips. "But it is a game though, riiight?"

"S-Stop being so... so inconsiderate, Kokichi ; you may think it's fun but everyone else is suffering right now!!" Kaede shouted in an outrage, face growing hot as distress took hold of her. This was terrible, awful, disgusting and downright cruel. She couldn't take this, she just couldn't, she had to get out of here, she had to get out, she had to she had to get out get out get get out-!!

"Kaede..." Kaede was snapped out of her spiraling only to realize she was hyperventilating, and a concerned looking Shuichi had his hand on her shoulder. Hot tears streamed down her face and with bewildered eyes she looked around to see everyone gazing at her, her heart squeezing in agony. Akamatsu saw mouths move, but she couldn't hear their words, and with a trembling form, she stumbled back towards the dining hall doors.

"I... I-I can't do this, I'm sorry-!!" Kaede breathed out in a panic, barely audible before she dashed out the doors, blindly running as far away as she could from this horrible situation, her problems, and her despair.

<| |>


	10. Advice From the Devil's Advocate

<| |>

Kaede found herself in the library, emitting soft sobs as she hugged herself, leaning against an alcove of bookcases in the back. She felt so hollow, but so wracked with despair at the same time, and she didn't think she could take it. Did... did she really have to do this? She could quit, couldn't she? Just sit here, not think about anything, not do anything, let her brain and heart numb to all this constant tragedy...

"Kaede, are you alright?" The firm voice of Shuichi, who seemed rather persistent in interacting oddly enough, called Kaede harshly to attention. She flushed as she did her best not to look like such a mess, but when she lifted her head her face was still an ocean of tears.

"O-Oh, Shuichi, funny seeing you here!!" Kaede spluttered out with a sniffle, laughing sheepishly as she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. He gave her an unamused look before silently sitting down beside the girl, a beat of uncomfortable silence passing before he spoke a response. "You know... it's not healthy to try and shoulder the responsibility of everyone."

"What... what do you mean?" Kaede stuttered with an oblivious blink, a mental block in her mind stopping her from wrapping her head around Shuichi's words, who scoffed irritably at her obliviousness. "You've got to look out for yourself more, everyone else thinks at least a little bit out themselves : you're the only one who doesn't."

"I mean, I just..." Kaede was unable to form words as she was promptly called out, and she hugged herself self consciously. It was undoubtedly true, this entire time she's been thinking about the others, but she couldn't remember a single time she had really stopped think about how she was hurting from this situation. "Y-You're right, Shuichi, but I don't think I know exactly how to stop."

"It's really not that hard, Kaede, you're just being stubborn." Shuichi continued to press forward, tugging down on his hat as his words stung Kaede. Maybe he was right, she could learn to take a few lessons from the self interested detective, although she supposed that sounded a bit mean in her head.

"I just want to escape with everyone, though." Kaede mumbled, pursing her lips as she couldn't help but get choked up a bit. Shuichi sighed and shook his head, pausing to reach up and grab a vermilion, thick book that he set on the blonde's lap. "I'm not going to say it can't happen, but I will say there's no use focusing on it now, that won't do you any good."

"I guess you're right, um, what's that?" Shuichi had succeeded in distracting Kaede as she curiously picked up the book, and out of the corner of her eye she almost thought she saw the boy's lips lift up into a small smile before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"My parents, before they left me with my uncle, used to read this story to me every night- Sherlock Holmes, a full collection of his stories." Shuichi explained monotonously, tracing the golden gilded letters of the title, and Kaede felt warm but also unwelcome at the same time, almost as if she was watching someone else's baby videos. She perked up, however, at the mention of Saihara's past, immediately wanting to know more about her companion. "Why did your parents leave you?"

"H-Huh?" Shuichi was taken aback by the bluntness of Kaede's statement, although his perpetual look of disinterest didn't change as he almost playfully rolled his eyes. She quickly realized the fault in her words and panicked, swiftly beginning to correct herself. "Ah, I'm sorry- I mean er, well..."

"It's fine, I-I guess I can tell you." Shuichi pursed his lips and averted his eyes now, becoming tenser after the moment of humor had passed. "My parents were in the film industry and traveled a lot, so as I grew older and they grew busier I was left with my uncle, who runs the detective agency I made my debut in. I... respect him and my aunt a lot."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but um, it's really cool that you had your uncle to sort of mentor you, right?" Kaede did her best to seem positive about the slightly sad situation Shuichi had been put in with his parents, but at least he seemed to still have decent role models in his life. His charcoal eyes flickered up to her smiling face skeptically, although he seemed eased somewhat as his hands subconsciously went up to fiddle with the brim of his hat. "I suppose you're right, Kaede- thank you."

"No problem, Shuichi!!" Kaede chirped with a relaxed sense of self, feeling a lot better after talking to the other, even if his point had never been made. Shuichi coincidentally followed up a few moments later, and stood up to put the book back in the shelf, still noticeable among the other, more earthy covers of the books. "What I'm trying to say is.. when I'm stressed I like to return to that story, for a nostalgic calm, so I guess... do something that makes you happy. Like the piano thing, right?"

"You're... you're right!! Thank you so much!!" Kaede beamed and hopped to her feet, embracing an apprehensive Shuichi, who let out a small squeak as he flinched in her grasp. Awkwardly, he pat the pianist, grimacing as he tried to wriggle out of her grasp, and she finally let the blue-haired boy go. "Er, yeah, no problem."

Feeling much lighter than before, Kaede skipped out of the library and left a Shuichi to browse the shelves, looking especially broody when she left him. She didn't even have to check the map, having thought about the music room she'd spotted quite a few times since she laid eyes on it, and was ecstatic at the thought of being able to play a piano. It didn't take Akamatsu long to reach it, and with a bright grin on her face she reached towards the nob and-

"Why hellooooo nurse~!!" Kaede jumped as Kokichi's singing voice snagged her attention, and with a frustrated huff, she turned around to force a polite smile on her face. "Oh, hi, Kokichi..."

"Hey hey heyy, everyone was pretty nervous about your freak out, ya know?" Kokichi hummed with his arms crossed behind his head, a mask of a smirk on his pale features. Kaede felt her lips droop into a frown as she went to adjust her backpack straps, feeling immensely uncomfortable and embarrassed at the thing she'd pushed to the back of her mind. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen, I just-I just got overwhelmed is all."

"Mhmmm, definitely didn't do it for attention." Kokichi commented with a snicker, and Kaede's frown deepened into a scowl as she stared disapprovingly at the shorter male. She felt defensive, attacked, and the blonde knew that she shouldn't have to feel this way for reacting in a realistic way when it came to their situation.

"What do you want?" Kaede asked with an arched eyebrow, hands on her hips in an effort to appear more assertive. Kokichi shrugged his shoulders impishly, rocking back and forth on his heels, unfazed as ever. "Well, I just thought I'd swing by and tell my sweet sweet goldilocks hello, ya know, to see how the crybaby is doing."

Kaede finally prepared to loose her temper with the gremlin-like Kokichi, but before she could, the boy lashed out with his hands and stabbed his little hands into her arm. With surprising strength, he yanked her forward laughing maniacally and holding on with a vice-like grip all the while. "Nishishi, come on goldilocks, I'll show you something that'll knock your soggy socks off!!"

"W-Wait, what are you- Kokichi, hold on!!" Kaede let out a startled shout as she was forced to follow Kokichi's mad dash, stumbling after him and trying her hardest not to slip. He didn't even look back as he pulled her along, and soon enough she was outside, sunlight flowing down on her. Soon, she found herself at the roofless building that led to the possible exit, or was it a trap? Finally, the blonde dug her heels into the ground just as they reached the manhole, but it seemed Ouma was going to stop there anyway : obviously, because he couldn't really drag her down the ladder, could she?

"Kokichi, what is all of this about?!" Kaede demanded as she pried herself from Kokichi's grasp, glaring daggers at the boy. He simply gave his signature laugh and pranced away from her, presumably because he expected a physically negative reaction, which was a bit sad to think about but the lavender-eyed girl was too caught up in her agitation to feel empathetic at the moment.

"What whaaat? I thought this was your biggest desire, to go through this tunnel until you died, ya know?" Kokichi gave a mockingly oblivious circle from his lips and tilted his head like a confused puppy, these actions only infuriating Kaede further. His constant teasing was getting to her, and she didn't enjoy the feeling it gave her when he poked and prodded at her psyche. "Of course not, I just want to get everyone out safely, how hard is that to understand?!"

"Oh, I know. I feel the same way." Kokichi's tone suddenly lowered and his smile fell from his face, his gaze piercing into her mercilessly. "I want everyone to be okay, I want it to be that easy just to work together and escape, but that's not the reality of the situation at all, Kaede. We're stuck here, people are going to die, and at the rate you're going, you're gonna be the first to go."

"What... what are you saying?" Kaede stood frozen in shock at Kokichi, her strong front crumbling at the severity of his words that didn't quite match well with his childish demeanor. His lips finally lifted into a snide simper and he gave a close-eyed smile, suddenly sprinting behind the distraught female. "Just saying, although, I am a liar~!!"

"K-Kokichi, wait-!!" Kaede exclaimed, still unnerved as she tried her best to follow him with shaky legs, but Kokichi was already scrambling up the ladders, stopping just before the exit to wave back down at her. Then, he was gone, leaving the shell shocked pianist to stare up at where he'd just been, feeling unfit to climb up after the supreme leader, even if it was worth it.

What was that all about? Kaede was still reeling from Kokichi's advice, and struggling to come to terms with the sentiment of those words. Did he actually intend on looking after her, or was this another ploy of his to torment her mentally? Either way, they stuck like glue in Akamatsu's head as she finally felt good enough to get out of there, but as as soon as she left she made another unwanted encounter.

"Hmph, couldn't convince anyone else to come with you as you risk your life for a trap?" Maki stood leaned against the wall of the building, and stared Kaede down, sending another onslaught of anxiety the lavender-eyed girl's way, just as she'd escaped the other aggressor. Taking a step back and nearly falling back down the manhole- wait, how did that get open in the first place? Now that the blonde thought about it, she remembered helping Kirumi closing it, so how...?

"Hey, are you braindead or something? Wouldn't be surprising, but don't just stand there looking so dumb, it's pitiful." Maki's harsh comment snapped Kaede back to attention as the fog in her mind cleared, and she frowned sharply at the other girl. She decided to dodge the brunette's comment and crossed her arms over her chest, making sure to move away from the manhole cover. "Why are you here in the first place? If this is such a trap, why are you even sticking around here?"

"Shut up." Maki hissed, glowering at the ground as she clenched her fists, and Kaede couldn't help but smirk triumphantly at what she viewed as a sign that the other girl didn't think her hope wasn't so useless after all. Taking a step towards the vermilion-eyed, she grinned cockily and gestured behind her towards the possible escape route. "You've been trying it, haven't you? I bet with your strength it's a lot easier-"

Kaede's taunting sentence was cut short as a crimson blur appeared in front of her, and with a surprised blink, the blonde was in a familiar situation.

"You don't learn, do you?" Maki growled lowly, and Kaede found herself lifted up by her collar, a distressing sense of nostalgia washing over her. Her eyes widened with fear and she immediately went to claw at Harukawa's hand, which barely effected the other, who only narrowed her deadly gaze. "You really need to know when to shut your mouth."

"Y-You're not a child caregiver, you can't be, what a-are you...?" Kaede questioned through gritted teeth, speaking again just to spite Maki, whose expression darkened immensely and with a growl, she threw her victim to the ground. Akamatsu hit the ground with a squeak and groaned as she immediately went to soothe the ache in her back, wincing before going to scramble away from the brunette. "What-?!"

"Don't shove your nose where it doesn't belong ; for once, just think about yourself for a minute." Maki spat before stalking off with quick strides, leaving Kaede to wonder at what exactly she'd uncovered in that conversation, along with one consistent message repeated to her from three separate sources : stop being so selfless and help herself for once, a message she wasn't too sure how she should go about.

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	11. Backed Into a Corner

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The rest of the day passed by in a hazy blur, Kaede feeling mentally and physically drained due to a pessimistic detective, a devilish supreme leader, and a murderous mystery girl. After the series of stressful encounters, she had stumbled back to her room and Kirumi brought her dinner, checking in before leaving the blonde to a restless sleep.

The morning announcement happened much too early, and Kaede groaned in apprehension as she rolled on her back, covering her eyes with her arm groggily. This morning was still unpleasant, but at least not as tear-filled as the last. She pulled herself sluggishly out of bed and forced herself to continue with a routine of taking a shower each morning, to set up at least some sort of pattern to keep her somewhat sane.

When Kaede exited out of her room and out into the dormitory, she spotted Ryoma near the doorway, looking a bit sleepy himself. Turning on her people pleaser persona, she walked towards the small boy and gave a wave, to which he just raised an eyebrow at her in a response. "Good morning, Ryoma!!"

"Heh, we're way past morning at this point, Kaede." Ryoma replied nonchalantly, shooting her a thumbs up as he chewed on the never ending supply of candy cigarettes he managed to hold. Kaede furrowed her eyebrow and gave him a confused look, tilting her head lightly to the side. "But... didn't the morning announcement just play?"

"Tch, in prison we got up at dawn- sorry, shouldn't have assumed you'd think the same way as a murder like me." Kaede frowned at Ryoma's words, his gruff voice tearing himself down more than she would ever want someone to consider. "C'mon, I'm sure you're a wonderful, let's just go to breakfast, okay?"

"Just go ahead without me, I'll... I'll catch up." Ryoma declined roughly, pulling down his hat further as he avoided Kaede's gaze. Disappointment stung her heart, but she still gave him an obedient smile and a polite wave before exiting into the morning sun, the early atmosphere actually quite pleasant given their situation. After only walking for a few moments, though, a gratingly chipper voice called out to her. "Gooood morning, Goldilocks~!!"

"O-Oh, hi... Kokichi." Kaede pursed her lips into a thin line as she hesitantly turned around to face the beaming Kokichi, stomach churning with discomfort. She still remembered his cutthroat words from yesterday, and she wasn't quite ready to face the boy again, still trying to process his message correctly.

"I got adequate beauty sleep last night, ya know? This place is just like a resort, with absolutely nothing to worry about!!" Kokichi stated with a hand on his hips, gesturing grandly with his free hand as the volume of his voice rose mockingly. A devious smile quickly crossed his lips as he held a finger in a quieting motion to his face, and Kaede instantly knew his next words would be no good. "Sooo... how far have ya gone with emo boy Shuichi?"

"Geeze, what the hell are you talking about?!" Kaede snapped back crossly, the early morning sleepiness managing to numb her to the embarrassing nature of the question. Kokichi burst out into a fit of giggles and grinned cheekily, holding his stomach in amusement. "Ooh, what were you thinking, Kaede? I just was asking how much you explored so far with him, not whatever you were thinking- you dirty, dirty girl!!"

"Just- Just leave me alone, Kokichi!!" Kaede responded with a groan, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips as she ran a hand through her golden locks. Almost instantly a downcast expression appeared on Kokichi's face, eyes watery as he frowned at her. "H-Hey, what's with that attitude...? I thought we were star crossed lovers, Kaede!! I guess you were lying the whole time, wahhhh!!"

"You have no right to accuse me of lying Kokichi, and I never said any of that!!" Kaede refuted, only slightly impacted by the display of distress Kokichi showed her, crocodile tears streaming down his face. In a heartbeat, his features morphing into a nonchalant smile as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Daaaamn girl, you really know how to stand up to a guy, dont'cha, Goldilocks? You're right though, we're just strangers to each other, no connection at all : you probably wouldn't feel much remorse if I dropped dead, would you?"

"That's not true, Kokichi, I care about you too!!" Kaede shot back without hesitation, not having to think before she blurted out that passionate response, meaning every word despite what her doubts told her. It seems she actually caught Kokichi off guard, and he blinked in surprise at her before smirking devilishly. "And that's the last mistake you'll ever make, Kaede."

With that, Kokichi skipped off, leaving a dumbstruck Kaede who was beginning to get tired of how many times this scenario was repeated. She did her best not to let his words muddy her mind this early in the morning and with a huff of resolve, she continued on her way to the dining hall, determined to face the day with a positive outlook. Spotting Kiibo near the entrance of the Prison Academy, she sped walk his way, giving him a cheerful smile. "Good morning, Kiibo!!"

"Good morning, Kaede." Kiibo responded with a pleasant smile, and already Kaede was relieved with the sense of normality he emitted, the feeling ironically coming from an actual robot, bizarrely enough. "Everyone appears to have gathered in the dining hall once again."

"Yeah, guess we should head there, right?" Kaede nodded her head enthusiastically, cupping her hands together in front of her chest with a vibrant grin. Kiibo seemed hesitant, though, and with worry marring her features she put a hand on his metallic shoulder. "Is everything alright, Kiibo?"

"I was just wondering when someone would come for us, it seems unlikely our disappearances would go unnoticed, correct?" Kiibo proposed with a slightly agitated tone, throwing his hands up in the air as a way to emphasize his point. "What if... what if no one even comes for us?"

"Hey, don't say that!! I'm sure the people who care about us will come, and we'll be trying our best to escape, too!!" Kaede objected with a disapproving shake of her head, firmly holding Kiibo's gaze. He seemed to relax a bit, as much as a rigid robot form could, and gave her a glass smile. "You're right, Kaede, I'm just overthinking things... thank you."

"No problem, I hope you have a wonderful day, Kiibo!!" Kaede bid Kiibo farewell and moved closer to the building, only to spot another student was hanging around the entrance. Determined to socialize and build trust with the group, she approached the other with a happy little wave. "Good morning, Angie!!"

"G'morning, Kaede ; what a wonderful morning it is!!" Angie chirped back with a large grin, shining radiantly with a bubbly aura that hit Kaede as she grew closer. The blonde nodded her head vigorously and the smaller girl seemed to perk up at the fact, eyes shining as she leaned forward. "So soooo, are you finally ready to give an offering?"

"W-Wait, right now?!" Kaede exclaimed, taken aback but completely put off by Angie's behavior- there was just something about the other girl that was hard not to like, despite the crazy things that came out of her mouth sometimes. "Sorry, I still have anemia... that doesn't um, really change overnight."

"Ohhh, that's a bummer, sure is, a major one. Angie needs an offering so He can smite Monokuma!!" Angie whined with a pout, but gave yet another cheery smile as she pat Kaede on the shoulder. "Make sure you eat a big breakfast, 'kay? Hope your anemia clears up soooon!!"

"Er, of course." Kaede uttered uncertainly, deciding to comply for now and try to weasel her way out of the odd situation later. Once again, the pianist departed on her way towards the dining hall, already a bit worn down by the colorful personalities she'd encountered so far. She entered the building and was swiftly met with an excitable Tenko, who bid her a hearty good morning. "Hiyaaah!! Tenko says good morning to you, Kaede!!"

"Good morning, Tenko, what's with the battle stance?" Kaede questioned curiously, unfazed surprisingly and only staring with slight admiration towards the athletic female. Tenko quickly flushed bashfully and gave an apologetic bow, stumbling over her words before forming a response. "O-Oh, sorry about that!! Tenko hasn't had a lot of time to train, so she trained this morning in the gym- she can't let herself fall behind!! Tenko's still full of energy though, so she was trying to shout it off, ehehe..."

"I see, that's really admirable!!" Kaede applauded with a bright grin, causing Tenko's face to turn redder as she cupped her cheeks in the palm of her calloused hands. "You're too nice, Kaede, wahhh...!!"

"I beg to differ, I can be even nicer!!" Kaede pressed with a teasing wink, and before Tenko could stutter out a response, the blonde gestured down the hall. "Want to walk to the dining hall with me, Tenko?"

"Tenko would love to!!" Tenko immediately replied, radiating joy and shaking like an excited puppy, causing Kaede's heart to warm significantly. Letting out a fond laugh, she began to lead the way, the green-haired girl happily walking beside her. On their way to their destination, the lavender-eyed girl spotted yet another female companion of hers, and enthusiastically greeted her. "Good morning, Tsumugi!!"

"Ah, good morning, Kaede..." Tsumugi responded with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and she made a poor attempt to muffle a sigh. Worry immediately crossed Kaede's features and she reached out to put a hand on the blue-haired girl's shoulder, offering up a reassuring smile. "What's the matter?"

"It's not very important, but... my nails are all messed up." Tsumugi admitted with a downcast expression, giving a saddened smile as she looked upwards. "I suppose it must've happened when we were transported here, and now I can't take care of them."

"Oh, that's a shame, I'm sorry- wait, maybe there's some nail amenities in the warehouse, it seemed to have almost everything there!!" Kaede suggested optimistically, adjusting her backpack straps as she held eye contact with Tsumugi. "I'm not that great at nail art, but I could still get it for you!!"

"You'd really do that for plain old me? You're really something, Kaede!!" Tsumugi praised with shining eyes, smile widening as she clasped her hands in front of her chest. Waving goodbye, Kaede turned around to talk to the surprisingly quiet Tenko, but found her flocking to Himiko's side, and Akamatsu immediately frowned. What did she even see in her?

Kaede eventually made her way into the dining hall, finding a similar setting to yesterday as her fellow Ultimates were eating breakfast already. This time she sat next to Rantaro, who gave her a lopsided grin as she approached him. "Morning, Kaede. Sleep well?"

"Um, not exactly." Kaede replied with a sheepish smile, giggled lightly to herself as she grabbed a serving of pancakes. "How about you?"

"I didn't do the best either, I guess in a situation like this it'd be pretty hard to shut off your mind." Rantaro mused with a wry chuckle, shrugging his shoulders as he played with his fork, making a few unpleasant scraping noises against the plate. The two continued to make conversation as a bubble of chatter enveloped the dining hall, and for a moment, everyone seemed okay : of course, that didn't last long before a nefarious headmaster appeared yet again.

"Good morning viet-" Monokuma began as he appeared on the table once again, this time flipping over a bowl of cereal into Miu's face. She interrupted his overused greeting with shriek, chair screeching as she stood up, holding herself with a mix of fury and shame. "G-God damn it, you fuckin' furry ass bitch, I-I'll kill you!!"

"M-Miu, let me help you!!" Kiibo stopped the strawberry blonde before she could fling her enraged self at Monokuma, and Miu let out a deranged growl as she attempted to climb over the robot. "Let me fuckin' at him, I'll tear the bitch apart!!"

"Tut tut tut, remember miss Iruma, harming the headmaster is against the rules and will be punished!!" Monokuma reminded with a wag of his paw, although the tone of his voice signaled that he wanted Miu to break the rule, seemingly aching to 'punish' one of the students, most likely by death. She shrunk back at this, shivering as she clutched at her drenched uniform, gritting her teeth with animosity. "God damn it...!!"

"Here, let me help you..." Kiibo took Miu to the side and began to dab away the spilled milk with a few napkins, the girl blushing but appearing appreciatively shocked by the gesture. With the inventor quieted down, the rest of the students turned to Monokuma as he began to speak again.

"You guys are taking wayyyy to long to kill someone, so I've decided to add an additional motive!!" Monokuma announced with another bloodthirsty grin, similar to yesterday's, and Kaede's jaw dropped in shock. "Another motive?!"

"A time limit is in effect!! If a murder doesn't occur by nighttime, two days from now..." Monokuma started ominously, and horror wrenched everyone's heart as he spoke his next words. "...Then everyone in this killing game will die!!"

"T-Time limit?!" Gonta stood dumbfounded as he gaped at Monokuma, and a cacophony of apprehensive cries continued to cry out. Ryoma finally seemed daunted as he pulled down his hat down, gritting his teeth in an unnerved fashion. "Everyone will die...?"

"Th-That's not fair!!" Tenko objected, pointing an accusatory finger Monokuma's way as sweat profusely drenched her brow. The bear unsheathed his claws and sent a threatening glare her way, baring his teeth with mild irritation. "Geeze, if you're not even gonna participate, why come here?!"

"You're the one who fuckin' forced us to come here!!" Kaito barked with malice, clenching his fist and shaking it at Monokuma. It took a moment for Kaede to choke out words from her tightened throat, but finally with burning eyes she spat out an objection. "Th-That's enough!!"

"Why are you doing this, what's the point of all of it?!" Kiibo demanded, one of the only ones with a stable voice, although that was likely because of his digital voice box. Monokuma dismissed his questions with a flick of his paw, tilting his head with a taunting glint in his vermilion eye. "Wellll, if you're all suffering so much, just hurry up and start the killing game!!"

"Y-You bastard!!" Kaito spat, features becoming extremely strained as he gritted his teeth, veins popping out of his neck dangerously. Waves of animosity came off of Monokuma as his maniacal grin grew ten fold, his signature laugh leaving his disgusting mouth. "Working together is pointless, so just knock it off already!! You know what you gotta do, so do it!! You don't need these people, they're strangers, just go and slit a throat already, this is getting booooring."

"Shut up and get the fuck back!!" Miu snarled aggressively, finally cleaned up and ready to tear Monokuma apart, even if Kiibo was attempting to hold her back for her own safety. The dual-colored bear didn't seem to give two flying fucks, however, and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, it's up to you now, either way, in the span of two days there will be bloodshed!!"

With that, Monokuma disappeared, leaving the scene as yet another ghastly announcement was left to sink into the young, unfortunate teenagers' minds.

"What a-are we supposed to do now, death will be at our door in an instant!!" Tsumugi timidly exclaimed, hugging herself anxiously as she looked as though she'd faint at any moment. Miu seemed to spiral once again as her body tensed up, posture worsening substantially. "I-I can't fuckin' die here, the world needs my golden brain!!"

"I... I don't w-wanna die yet...!!" Kokichi whimpered with teary eyes, and his words accompanied by the rest of the distraught students echoed in Kaede's mind. They... were going to die? That was their only choice? No, that couldn't be true, there had to be a way to avoid that outcome, there had to!!

"No need to worry, He will welcome you with open arms!!" Angie assured the nerve-wracked group, taking on a stature of piece as she closed her eyes to breath in and out. From beside her, the equally short Himiko hid her face with her hat and grumbled a response. "That's only after we die, right?"

"We- We have to stay strong, I-I'll do something about this, I swear!!" Kaito exclaimed, although his wavering voice and ill demeanor made it hard to trust his words. Kiibo, calm as ever due to his slight inclination towards apathy, regarded the astronaut with a stare that suggested for him to continue. "Well, do you have a plan?"

"I'm gonna think of one right now!!" Kaito shouted with conviction, resolve hardening his gaze as he raised a fist in the air. Maki clicked her tongue with a smooth mask of disinterest as she looked to the side, eyes glittering with bitter amusement. "You're all bark and no bite."

"W-We've gotta fight back then...!!" Gonta insisted with a desperate expression contorting his facial features, making his demeanor come off as quite threatening. Tenko agreed with a vigorous head nod, grimacing but appearing to do her best to stay confident. "Y-You're right, for a degenerate- if we hit them with a sneak attack, we might be able to make it!!"

"Do... do aikido moves involve sneak attacks?" Tsumugi wondered out loud, her face growing paler by the second. Gonta butted in again, baring his teeth as determination glittered in his ruby eyes, hair nearly rising off of his back with his intensity. "Gonta will protect everyone with his life!!"

"You're going against that demonic robot barehanded? If he managed to put all of this together, then Monokuma probably has some crazy machinery to protect him." Ryoma chastised disapprovingly, shaking his head with a downcast emotion marring his features.

"B-But... we have to do it, or else we'll die- Tenko can't let that happen!!" Tenko argued, her cries of objection becoming more and more frantic by the second. Kiibo finally seemed to give off an aura of distress as his metallic body stiffened, and he began to voice his opinion. "W-Wait, we still have enough time to calculate a course of action-!!"

"We've no time to be indecisive, it seems we are backed into a corner." Korekiyo injected smoothly, cat like eyes closed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "To die fighting or from the time limit..."

"Why do both of those options involve dying?!" Tsumugi cried out, panic apparent on her features as tears pricked her lapis eyes. Kokichi seemed especially jarred, eyes wide and jaw open as he pressed himself against a wall. "I'm gonna survive, no matter what!!"

"N-No matter what...?!" Kaede parroted, mind turning into a whirlpool of helplessness as she struggled to comprehend the events going on around her. "You... you can't do that, though, you can't-!!"

"Then you'll accept the blame?" Kokichi's teary-eyed face disappeared in a heartbeat, and he smiled expectantly up at Kaede, the latter's heart jarring in her chest. Before she could even form a proper response, he pressed onward, purple eyes beginning to gleam with a hidden emotion as he continued. "I have people who'd care though, maybe, it could be a lie, but I'm sure everyone else here has loved ones. Would you take the blame if we all died?"

"W-Well, I...!!" Kaede stuttered, gulping as a rock formed in her throat, mind buzzing with anxiety as incoherent words were flung around her brain. With a relaxed smile, Kokichi darted off, leaving the blonde dizzy and her heart aching. The next words Rantaro spoke, or anyone spoke really, went unnoticed by her, her knees buckling as she dropped to the floor and one thought carved into her despairing mind while her vision fazed out : she couldn't let anyone die, no matter what.

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Help vote on chapter one's freetime events in this survey!! : Chapter One Freetime Events

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The rest of the day passed by in a hazy blur, Kaede feeling mentally and physically drained due to a pessimistic detective, a devilish supreme leader, and a murderous mystery girl. After the series of stressful encounters, she had stumbled back to her room and Kirumi brought her dinner, checking in before leaving the blonde to a restless sleep.

The morning announcement happened much too early, and Kaede groaned in apprehension as she rolled on her back, covering her eyes with her arm groggily. This morning was still unpleasant, but at least not as tear-filled as the last. She pulled herself sluggishly out of bed and forced herself to continue with a routine of taking a shower each morning, to set up at least some sort of pattern to keep her somewhat sane.

When Kaede exited out of her room and out into the dormitory, she spotted Ryoma near the doorway, looking a bit sleepy himself. Turning on her people pleaser persona, she walked towards the small boy and gave a wave, to which he just raised an eyebrow at her in a response. "Good morning, Ryoma!!"

"Heh, we're way past morning at this point, Kaede." Ryoma replied nonchalantly, shooting her a thumbs up as he chewed on the never ending supply of candy cigarettes he managed to hold. Kaede furrowed her eyebrow and gave him a confused look, tilting her head lightly to the side. "But... didn't the morning announcement just play?"

"Tch, in prison we got up at dawn- sorry, shouldn't have assumed you'd think the same way as a murder like me." Kaede frowned at Ryoma's words, his gruff voice tearing himself down more than she would ever want someone to consider. "C'mon, I'm sure you're a wonderful, let's just go to breakfast, okay?"

"Just go ahead without me, I'll... I'll catch up." Ryoma declined roughly, pulling down his hat further as he avoided Kaede's gaze. Disappointment stung her heart, but she still gave him an obedient smile and a polite wave before exiting into the morning sun, the early atmosphere actually quite pleasant given their situation. After only walking for a few moments, though, a gratingly chipper voice called out to her. "Gooood morning, Goldilocks~!!"

"O-Oh, hi... Kokichi." Kaede pursed her lips into a thin line as she hesitantly turned around to face the beaming Kokichi, stomach churning with discomfort. She still remembered his cutthroat words from yesterday, and she wasn't quite ready to face the boy again, still trying to process his message correctly.

"I got adequate beauty sleep last night, ya know? This place is just like a resort, with absolutely nothing to worry about!!" Kokichi stated with a hand on his hips, gesturing grandly with his free hand as the volume of his voice rose mockingly. A devious smile quickly crossed his lips as he held a finger in a quieting motion to his face, and Kaede instantly knew his next words would be no good. "Sooo... how far have ya gone with emo boy Shuichi?"

"Geeze, what the hell are you talking about?!" Kaede snapped back crossly, the early morning sleepiness managing to numb her to the embarrassing nature of the question. Kokichi burst out into a fit of giggles and grinned cheekily, holding his stomach in amusement. "Ooh, what were you thinking, Kaede? I just was asking how much you explored so far with him, not whatever you were thinking- you dirty, dirty girl!!"

"Just- Just leave me alone, Kokichi!!" Kaede responded with a groan, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips as she ran a hand through her golden locks. Almost instantly a downcast expression appeared on Kokichi's face, eyes watery as he frowned at her. "H-Hey, what's with that attitude...? I thought we were star crossed lovers, Kaede!! I guess you were lying the whole time, wahhhh!!"

"You have no right to accuse me of lying Kokichi, and I never said any of that!!" Kaede refuted, only slightly impacted by the display of distress Kokichi showed her, crocodile tears streaming down his face. In a heartbeat, his features morphing into a nonchalant smile as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Daaaamn girl, you really know how to stand up to a guy, dont'cha, Goldilocks? You're right though, we're just strangers to each other, no connection at all : you probably wouldn't feel much remorse if I dropped dead, would you?"

"That's not true, Kokichi, I care about you too!!" Kaede shot back without hesitation, not having to think before she blurted out that passionate response, meaning every word despite what her doubts told her. It seems she actually caught Kokichi off guard, and he blinked in surprise at her before smirking devilishly. "And that's the last mistake you'll ever make, Kaede."

With that, Kokichi skipped off, leaving a dumbstruck Kaede who was beginning to get tired of how many times this scenario was repeated. She did her best not to let his words muddy her mind this early in the morning and with a huff of resolve, she continued on her way to the dining hall, determined to face the day with a positive outlook. Spotting Kiibo near the entrance of the Prison Academy, she sped walk his way, giving him a cheerful smile. "Good morning, Kiibo!!"

"Good morning, Kaede." Kiibo responded with a pleasant smile, and already Kaede was relieved with the sense of normality he emitted, the feeling ironically coming from an actual robot, bizarrely enough. "Everyone appears to have gathered in the dining hall once again."

"Yeah, guess we should head there, right?" Kaede nodded her head enthusiastically, cupping her hands together in front of her chest with a vibrant grin. Kiibo seemed hesitant, though, and with worry marring her features she put a hand on his metallic shoulder. "Is everything alright, Kiibo?"

"I was just wondering when someone would come for us, it seems unlikely our disappearances would go unnoticed, correct?" Kiibo proposed with a slightly agitated tone, throwing his hands up in the air as a way to emphasize his point. "What if... what if no one even comes for us?"

"Hey, don't say that!! I'm sure the people who care about us will come, and we'll be trying our best to escape, too!!" Kaede objected with a disapproving shake of her head, firmly holding Kiibo's gaze. He seemed to relax a bit, as much as a rigid robot form could, and gave her a glass smile. "You're right, Kaede, I'm just overthinking things... thank you."

"No problem, I hope you have a wonderful day, Kiibo!!" Kaede bid Kiibo farewell and moved closer to the building, only to spot another student was hanging around the entrance. Determined to socialize and build trust with the group, she approached the other with a happy little wave. "Good morning, Angie!!"

"G'morning, Kaede ; what a wonderful morning it is!!" Angie chirped back with a large grin, shining radiantly with a bubbly aura that hit Kaede as she grew closer. The blonde nodded her head vigorously and the smaller girl seemed to perk up at the fact, eyes shining as she leaned forward. "So soooo, are you finally ready to give an offering?"

"W-Wait, right now?!" Kaede exclaimed, taken aback but completely put off by Angie's behavior- there was just something about the other girl that was hard not to like, despite the crazy things that came out of her mouth sometimes. "Sorry, I still have anemia... that doesn't um, really change overnight."

"Ohhh, that's a bummer, sure is, a major one. Angie needs an offering so He can smite Monokuma!!" Angie whined with a pout, but gave yet another cheery smile as she pat Kaede on the shoulder. "Make sure you eat a big breakfast, 'kay? Hope your anemia clears up soooon!!"

"Er, of course." Kaede uttered uncertainly, deciding to comply for now and try to weasel her way out of the odd situation later. Once again, the pianist departed on her way towards the dining hall, already a bit worn down by the colorful personalities she'd encountered so far. She entered the building and was swiftly met with an excitable Tenko, who bid her a hearty good morning. "Hiyaaah!! Tenko says good morning to you, Kaede!!"

"Good morning, Tenko, what's with the battle stance?" Kaede questioned curiously, unfazed surprisingly and only staring with slight admiration towards the athletic female. Tenko quickly flushed bashfully and gave an apologetic bow, stumbling over her words before forming a response. "O-Oh, sorry about that!! Tenko hasn't had a lot of time to train, so she trained this morning in the gym- she can't let herself fall behind!! Tenko's still full of energy though, so she was trying to shout it off, ehehe..."

"I see, that's really admirable!!" Kaede applauded with a bright grin, causing Tenko's face to turn redder as she cupped her cheeks in the palm of her calloused hands. "You're too nice, Kaede, wahhh...!!"

"I beg to differ, I can be even nicer!!" Kaede pressed with a teasing wink, and before Tenko could stutter out a response, the blonde gestured down the hall. "Want to walk to the dining hall with me, Tenko?"

"Tenko would love to!!" Tenko immediately replied, radiating joy and shaking like an excited puppy, causing Kaede's heart to warm significantly. Letting out a fond laugh, she began to lead the way, the green-haired girl happily walking beside her. On their way to their destination, the lavender-eyed girl spotted yet another female companion of hers, and enthusiastically greeted her. "Good morning, Tsumugi!!"

"Ah, good morning, Kaede..." Tsumugi responded with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and she made a poor attempt to muffle a sigh. Worry immediately crossed Kaede's features and she reached out to put a hand on the blue-haired girl's shoulder, offering up a reassuring smile. "What's the matter?"

"It's not very important, but... my nails are all messed up." Tsumugi admitted with a downcast expression, giving a saddened smile as she looked upwards. "I suppose it must've happened when we were transported here, and now I can't take care of them."

"Oh, that's a shame, I'm sorry- wait, maybe there's some nail amenities in the warehouse, it seemed to have almost everything there!!" Kaede suggested optimistically, adjusting her backpack straps as she held eye contact with Tsumugi. "I'm not that great at nail art, but I could still get it for you!!"

"You'd really do that for plain old me? You're really something, Kaede!!" Tsumugi praised with shining eyes, smile widening as she clasped her hands in front of her chest. Waving goodbye, Kaede turned around to talk to the surprisingly quiet Tenko, but found her flocking to Himiko's side, and Akamatsu immediately frowned. What did she even see in her?

Kaede eventually made her way into the dining hall, finding a similar setting to yesterday as her fellow Ultimates were eating breakfast already. This time she sat next to Rantaro, who gave her a lopsided grin as she approached him. "Morning, Kaede. Sleep well?"

"Um, not exactly." Kaede replied with a sheepish smile, giggled lightly to herself as she grabbed a serving of pancakes. "How about you?"

"I didn't do the best either, I guess in a situation like this it'd be pretty hard to shut off your mind." Rantaro mused with a wry chuckle, shrugging his shoulders as he played with his fork, making a few unpleasant scraping noises against the plate. The two continued to make conversation as a bubble of chatter enveloped the dining hall, and for a moment, everyone seemed okay : of course, that didn't last long before a nefarious headmaster appeared yet again.

"Good morning viet-" Monokuma began as he appeared on the table once again, this time flipping over a bowl of cereal into Miu's face. She interrupted his overused greeting with shriek, chair screeching as she stood up, holding herself with a mix of fury and shame. "G-God damn it, you fuckin' furry ass bitch, I-I'll kill you!!"

"M-Miu, let me help you!!" Kiibo stopped the strawberry blonde before she could fling her enraged self at Monokuma, and Miu let out a deranged growl as she attempted to climb over the robot. "Let me fuckin' at him, I'll tear the bitch apart!!"

"Tut tut tut, remember miss Iruma, harming the headmaster is against the rules and will be punished!!" Monokuma reminded with a wag of his paw, although the tone of his voice signaled that he wanted Miu to break the rule, seemingly aching to 'punish' one of the students, most likely by death. She shrunk back at this, shivering as she clutched at her drenched uniform, gritting her teeth with animosity. "God damn it...!!"

"Here, let me help you..." Kiibo took Miu to the side and began to dab away the spilled milk with a few napkins, the girl blushing but appearing appreciatively shocked by the gesture. With the inventor quieted down, the rest of the students turned to Monokuma as he began to speak again.

"You guys are taking wayyyy to long to kill someone, so I've decided to add an additional motive!!" Monokuma announced with another bloodthirsty grin, similar to yesterday's, and Kaede's jaw dropped in shock. "Another motive?!"

"A time limit is in effect!! If a murder doesn't occur by nighttime, two days from now..." Monokuma started ominously, and horror wrenched everyone's heart as he spoke his next words. "...Then everyone in this killing game will die!!"

"T-Time limit?!" Gonta stood dumbfounded as he gaped at Monokuma, and a cacophony of apprehensive cries continued to cry out. Ryoma finally seemed daunted as he pulled down his hat down, gritting his teeth in an unnerved fashion. "Everyone will die...?"

"Th-That's not fair!!" Tenko objected, pointing an accusatory finger Monokuma's way as sweat profusely drenched her brow. The bear unsheathed his claws and sent a threatening glare her way, baring his teeth with mild irritation. "Geeze, if you're not even gonna participate, why come here?!"

"You're the one who fuckin' forced us to come here!!" Kaito barked with malice, clenching his fist and shaking it at Monokuma. It took a moment for Kaede to choke out words from her tightened throat, but finally with burning eyes she spat out an objection. "Th-That's enough!!"

"Why are you doing this, what's the point of all of it?!" Kiibo demanded, one of the only ones with a stable voice, although that was likely because of his digital voice box. Monokuma dismissed his questions with a flick of his paw, tilting his head with a taunting glint in his vermilion eye. "Wellll, if you're all suffering so much, just hurry up and start the killing game!!"

"Y-You bastard!!" Kaito spat, features becoming extremely strained as he gritted his teeth, veins popping out of his neck dangerously. Waves of animosity came off of Monokuma as his maniacal grin grew ten fold, his signature laugh leaving his disgusting mouth. "Working together is pointless, so just knock it off already!! You know what you gotta do, so do it!! You don't need these people, they're strangers, just go and slit a throat already, this is getting booooring."

"Shut up and get the fuck back!!" Miu snarled aggressively, finally cleaned up and ready to tear Monokuma apart, even if Kiibo was attempting to hold her back for her own safety. The dual-colored bear didn't seem to give two flying fucks, however, and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, it's up to you now, either way, in the span of two days there will be bloodshed!!"

With that, Monokuma disappeared, leaving the scene as yet another ghastly announcement was left to sink into the young, unfortunate teenagers' minds.

"What a-are we supposed to do now, death will be at our door in an instant!!" Tsumugi timidly exclaimed, hugging herself anxiously as she looked as though she'd faint at any moment. Miu seemed to spiral once again as her body tensed up, posture worsening substantially. "I-I can't fuckin' die here, the world needs my golden brain!!"

"I... I don't w-wanna die yet...!!" Kokichi whimpered with teary eyes, and his words accompanied by the rest of the distraught students echoed in Kaede's mind. They... were going to die? That was their only choice? No, that couldn't be true, there had to be a way to avoid that outcome, there had to!!

"No need to worry, He will welcome you with open arms!!" Angie assured the nerve-wracked group, taking on a stature of piece as she closed her eyes to breath in and out. From beside her, the equally short Himiko hid her face with her hat and grumbled a response. "That's only after we die, right?"

"We- We have to stay strong, I-I'll do something about this, I swear!!" Kaito exclaimed, although his wavering voice and ill demeanor made it hard to trust his words. Kiibo, calm as ever due to his slight inclination towards apathy, regarded the astronaut with a stare that suggested for him to continue. "Well, do you have a plan?"

"I'm gonna think of one right now!!" Kaito shouted with conviction, resolve hardening his gaze as he raised a fist in the air. Maki clicked her tongue with a smooth mask of disinterest as she looked to the side, eyes glittering with bitter amusement. "You're all bark and no bite."

"W-We've gotta fight back then...!!" Gonta insisted with a desperate expression contorting his facial features, making his demeanor come off as quite threatening. Tenko agreed with a vigorous head nod, grimacing but appearing to do her best to stay confident. "Y-You're right, for a degenerate- if we hit them with a sneak attack, we might be able to make it!!"

"Do... do aikido moves involve sneak attacks?" Tsumugi wondered out loud, her face growing paler by the second. Gonta butted in again, baring his teeth as determination glittered in his ruby eyes, hair nearly rising off of his back with his intensity. "Gonta will protect everyone with his life!!"

"You're going against that demonic robot barehanded? If he managed to put all of this together, then Monokuma probably has some crazy machinery to protect him." Ryoma chastised disapprovingly, shaking his head with a downcast emotion marring his features.

"B-But... we have to do it, or else we'll die- Tenko can't let that happen!!" Tenko argued, her cries of objection becoming more and more frantic by the second. Kiibo finally seemed to give off an aura of distress as his metallic body stiffened, and he began to voice his opinion. "W-Wait, we still have enough time to calculate a course of action-!!"

"We've no time to be indecisive, it seems we are backed into a corner." Korekiyo injected smoothly, cat like eyes closed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "To die fighting or from the time limit..."

"Why do both of those options involve dying?!" Tsumugi cried out, panic apparent on her features as tears pricked her lapis eyes. Kokichi seemed especially jarred, eyes wide and jaw open as he pressed himself against a wall. "I'm gonna survive, no matter what!!"

"N-No matter what...?!" Kaede parroted, mind turning into a whirlpool of helplessness as she struggled to comprehend the events going on around her. "You... you can't do that, though, you can't-!!"

"Then you'll accept the blame?" Kokichi's teary-eyed face disappeared in a heartbeat, and he smiled expectantly up at Kaede, the latter's heart jarring in her chest. Before she could even form a proper response, he pressed onward, purple eyes beginning to gleam with a hidden emotion as he continued. "I have people who'd care though, maybe, it could be a lie, but I'm sure everyone else here has loved ones. Would you take the blame if we all died?"

"W-Well, I...!!" Kaede stuttered, gulping as a rock formed in her throat, mind buzzing with anxiety as incoherent words were flung around her brain. With a relaxed smile, Kokichi darted off, leaving the blonde dizzy and her heart aching. The next words Rantaro spoke, or anyone spoke really, went unnoticed by her, her knees buckling as she dropped to the floor and one thought carved into her despairing mind while her vision fazed out : she couldn't let anyone die, no matter what.

<| |>


	12. In the Dead of Night

<| |>

Miserable. Absolutely miserable is what Kaede was. Her thoughts would barely come together into words, and she only got the feeling without an explanation that her heart was going through some immense emotional pain. At least whatever she lay on was comfy, it made it a bit easier to drift off into the forgetful slumber she yearned for ; however, hushed conversation didn't seem to have her wants in mind.

"Is Kaede alright, ohh Tenko hopes she's alright!!" A distressed female voice whisper shouted, followed up by a more boyish sigh. "Kind of a handful if ya ask me."

"Shut up degenerate, don't talk about her like that, she's much better than you!!" The same female voice from before seemed to forget about whispering now, becoming aggressive as rusting sounds paired with grunts began to disturb Kaede, who groaned and shifted in her spot. Her eyelashes almost fluttered open, but suddenly a spidery hand brushed through her blonde hair, immediately soothing her.

"Sh, let her rest." A regal female tone, presumably from the same one that was comforting Kaede now, silenced the more husky female voice, who quickly began to mumble quiet apologies. "A-Ah, Tenko is sorry, Kirumi, very, very sorry!!"

"It's fine, but I must request that you and Kaito must leave. I'm sure Kaede would be glad to hear that you're worried about her, but for now I think she should recover." The calmer female voice spoke once again, and as Kaede blinked in and out of subconsciousness, she could feel a hand drawing circles on her back.

"Tenko understand, um um, if she wakes up tell her Tenko said hi!!" The more excitable girl exclaimed, and the one male voice sighed but his tone seemed to become happier. "I gotcha, Kirumi, take care of her, okay?"

Kaede could faintly hear footsteps walk away, and a door closing, although another person appeared to enter the room. "How's she doing, Kirumi?"

"Oh, hello, Rantaro- good of you to visit. She's alright, just mentally drained." The woman explained softly, and the male hummed in his smoothly attractive voice. "That's good to hear- er, well, not the mentally drained part, but at least that's the worst of it."

"True, and I suppose we're all mentally drained, at this point." The girl's voice sounded tired, and Kaede could feel her take a shuddered breath before she felt the presence leave her side. The voices continued to talk in hushed whispers as the creak of a door signaled the two's exit, and once more, the blonde felt her self slip into peaceful sleep, undisturbed.

This didn't last long.

Hours must have passed, and suddenly Kaede felt a weight push down on her bed, effectively disrupting her slumber. Letting out a muffled groan of protest, she yawned and groggily blinked her eyes open. "What time is i- AHH!!"

There, fazing into vision with a malicious smile, was Kokichi, hovering right over Kaede's form with the most impish expression imaginable. Letting out a startled yelp, she attempted to roll away, and he jumped off of her in the opposite direction, snickering in an accomplished fashion. "Nishishi, aww, too bad, Goldilocks, I was gonna enact sleeping beauty with you!!"

"Wh-What are you doing in my room, Kokichi?!" Kaede gave a stuttered demand, still shaken up and face burning from the... weird encounter. Kokichi simply smirked and hopped onto the bed, quickly closing the distance between them to tease her once again. "Just came to see my favorite damsel in distre-"

Startled and uncomfortable, Kaede reflexively punched Kokichi square in the face once he invaded her personal boundaries, and she felt pretty bad ass at first ; she guessed she should probably check and see if he was okay, though. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, a-are you okay...?!"

"Wow, for a girl who faints at the drop of Shuichi's emo hat, you give a pretty good punch!!" Kokichi popped right back to his feet with an admiring smile, the red mark on his cheek standing out immensely on his pale skin. At this point Kaede felt guilt seep into her stomach and she frowned, repeating her question once again with a much more worried tone. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Geeze, I know you're obsessed with me, Kaede, but at least try not to make it so obvious." In an instant Kokichi replaced Kaede's worry with irritation, and she crossed her arms with a huff. At this point, she was beyond exasperated with him.

"Kokichi. Why are you here?" Kaede questioned once again in a much firmer voice, before throwing her hands in the air and looking towards the door. "How did you even get in?!"

"Lock picks of course- what kind of supreme leader would I be if I didn't know how to break into places?" Kokichi shot back at her, and before Kaede could respond, he shook a box of what appeared to be manufactured lock pics, much to her surprise ; he seemed to spot the confusion on her face, and he opened his mouth to explain. "There's like, a whole box of these in storage, you've just gotta know how to use them!!"

Kaede sweatdropped at how easy it was to break into someone's room, and sighing she tucked a messy strand of blonde hair behind her ear, proceeding to shoot Kokichi another questioning look. "Alright... so then, why are you even in here?"

As Kokichi's mischievous smile grew, Kaede quickly grew to regret her words, and he darted forward, beginning to pull her through her own dorm door. How was such a petite boy so strong?! It didn't help that she was still groggy from sleep, and could only awkwardly stumble, mumbling out a few protests, along the way.

"H-Hey, where are you taking me?! You have to stop doing this!!" Kaede sputtered out as she tried to keep up with Kokichi's fast pace, and he simply looked back at her, sending her a devious wink. "Oh, you'll see Goldilocks!!"

"That doesn't tell me anything!!" Kaede complained, but relinquished with a sigh and rolled her eyes, reluctantly letting Kokichi guide her out into the night air. Soon, they began to turn towards the academy, and this is finally when the pianist started to get nervous.

"Um, you're not going to... er, do anything rash, right, Kokichi?" Kaede questioned in an anxious tone, feeling foolish for so easily trusting Kokichi and letting him isolate her from the rest of the group. For a few moments, only eerie silence of the night was her response, but soon enough, the liar snickered to himself. "You really think I'd kill? Guess I'm a pretty good liar, then."

"What?" Kaede blurted out, but already they had reached the entrance to the academy and the door nearly slammed into her face as Kokichi dragged her inside. Their footsteps echoed in the empty corridors, and they soon found themselves out of the girl's bathroom...?

Kaede blankly stared in confusion at the entrance, unsure if Kokichi really meant to bring them there, before the aforementioned boy began to enter, quickly jolting her out of her stupor. "W-Wait, you can't go in there!!"

"Fuck gender roles!! Now come onnn, I have something to show you!!" Kokichi drew out his words and beckoned Kaede to follow after him, which she reluctantly did with a sigh. It was a pretty plain bathroom, one that she hadn't visited yet since she had her own in her dorm room. The pianist watched as the other teenager darted towards the back, a wide, twisted smile engulfing his features.

"Why are we here anyway-" Kaede began to ask before Kokichi's hands rapidly shot out to press against the tiles of the wall, in a seemingly random pattern. She opened her mouth to question what he was doing but a rumbling disrupted her once again, and she could feel the floor tremble beneath her while she watched, shell shocked, as the back wall of the bathroom parted into a narrow passageway.

Kaede was left to gawk at the newfound entrance as Kokichi flashed a triumphant smile, and the leaned against the wall beside the opening, purple eyes eyeing her up and down. "Well, are you coming or not?"

"H-Huh, how- why-??" Kaede couldn't even form a proper response before she watched Kokichi slip through the passageway, and she had no choice but to follow him ; in reality, she could've just turned around and left him there, but morally she just couldn't let him venture off into this potentially life threatening area, her conscience wouldn't allow it.

So, Kaede squeezed into the tight space, shuffling to follow after Kokichi, who was a foot or two ahead of her. It was cramped and suffocating, making panic creep up her spine, but she gritted her teeth and continued onward. If this happened to be a chance to save all of them, she'd happily step out of her comfort zone for that opportunity.

The silence was stifling, but finally she managed to pop her body out into a much bigger space, taking a moment to catch her breath and to let her nerves calm. This proved to be in vain, however, because as soon as she looked up, her heart shot down in her chest. It was a dark, high-roofed room with in the back many, many screens documenting every bit of the academy. She saw Miu sprawled across her bed with a snot bubbles coming out of her nose, she saw Kiibo seemingly powered down beside his bed, and then she saw Shuichi, pacing back and forth, taking off his hat briefly to run a hand through his hair. He seemed so, so very frustrated, and Akamatsu wanted to go and ease his worries right at that moment until Kokichi brought her back to attention.

"Pretty cool, right? Goes to show what a little snooping can do!!" Kokichi chirped, inspecting each screen with bright eyes and inspected the area, humming to himself before seeming to perk up at a new discovery. "Hey, Goldilocks, come look at this!!"

"What is it...?" Kaede managed to mumble out in a response despite her muddled brain, still struggling to register all the happenings as she walked towards Kokichi. He tugged on her sleeve and with a grand gesture, swept his hand over an array of buttons. Blinking in confusion, not quite getting the importance of this discovery, the blonde leaned forward to get a closer look. "Um..."

"Are you serious? You really do fit the dumb blonde stereotype!!" Kokichi whined, groaning at Kaede before he pointed at the labels beneath them, which displayed in white letters the one of the many rooms of the academy. "What do you think these are for?"

What were they for...? Well, they had to be related to something in the rooms they were titled as, and if Kaede looked closer, all the dorm rooms' buttons were red except for her and Kokichi's, while the dining room was also locked, along with several other places unknown places they hadn't come into contact with yet ; looking at these, she could even spot that she and Miu had an ultimate lab, which must be the room she'd originally believed to be a music lab. All the other places like the library and the gym's buttons were green, so this must mean...

"If you press one of these buttons, they unlock?" Kaede mused aloud, uncertainly looking to Kokichi for confirmation on her assumption. Seemingly pleased, he nodded his head with a crooked grin, giving her an appreciative wink. "That's right!! And, because there's a place like this in the school where someone inside could access it, what does that mean?"

Kaede frowned as she tried to unravel the meaning of Kokichi's words, eyes flickering back to the screens displaying her fellow trapped Ultimates. As she watched Shuichi hang his head in defeat, she come to a morbid, gut twisting realization. "No...!!"

"You're smarter than you look, huh?" Kokichi seemed to take notice at the horror marring Kaede's features, and a devilish smirk grew across his face. He took another step towards her, expression becoming more gruesome by the second as he cornered her in a more mental sense. "You can't hide from the truth, Kaede, we both know what this adds up to."

"One of us... i-is the mastermind...!!" Kaede choked out, clamping her eyes shut as her throat seemed to close in on itself. She knew it was a possibility, it had been mentioned a few times, even, but when presented with such blatant evidence... it made her sick, it made her anxious, and most of all, it made it even harder to trust all these wonderful people she'd come to know.

"That's right." Kokichi's voice didn't seem to have his usual cockiness, and he almost seemed sympathetic as he looked up at Kaede. A beat of silence passed them before his signature, nonchalant smile rose to his lips. "But don't worry too much, we at least know we can trust each other, right?"

"Wh-What do you mean? How... how can I know that I can trust you?" Kaede blurted out defensively, immediately becoming disgusted with how paranoid she sounded ; she wanted to trust all her friends, she didn't want to push anyone away, she wanted them all to get out together...

"You really can't." Was Kokichi's surprising answer, and his tone almost became bitter as he folded his hands behind his head. "Still, I showed this to you, didn't I? I decided that I could trust you, for some weird reason, so that must count for something, right? I mean- I don't seem to be the most open person, ya think?"

"I... I guess." Kaede reluctantly stated, hugging herself as she sent a downcast look towards the ground, her heart feeling heavy with this new information. Kokichi seemed to be about to say something else, but a loud mechanical buzzing interrupted both of them, and with a start, they whirled around to see the source of the noise.

There, stumbling their way out of compartments that had originally melted into the cluttered room, were smaller, more colorful copies of Monokuma, each one seeming to introduce themselves without truly understanding what was going on.

"Monotaro!!" A red half white and half red bear shouted, looking to be themed after a ninja with toy shurikens in his paws.

"Monodam." A more robotic themed bear stated, half white and half green with dead fish-like eyes.

"Monokid!!" Spat a more vulgar looking bear, half white and half blue with a guitar and chest hair...?

"Monosuke!!" The white and yellow tiger-striped one commented, adjusting his classic circle glasses.

"Monophanie~!!" A more peaceful looking white and pink themed bear cheered, having a pink flower tucked into one of her ears while also appearing to be wearing a coconut bikini over her nonexistent chest area.

After yelling out their names in an odd fashion, the five animatronics were left to stare at the surprised two teens, the latter sharing an anxious look- even Kokichi's smile seemed tight lipped due to this occurrence.

"Huh, where's daddy...?" Monophanie wondered with a sniffle, looking around her, the other bears copying her action. Monokid raised his guitar and let out a yell, gesturing to both the pianist and supreme leader. "They must've done something to him, get 'em!!"

"H-Hold on, I don't know what you're talking about!!" Kaede's protests seemed to fall on deaf ears, however, as the machines waddled towards them, and even if they looked cute, she didn't want to think of what would happen if one of their metal claws tore through her skin. Before the lavender-eyed girl could make up a frantic plan, Kokichi stepped forward and seemed to pull something from his pocket ; he pointed the item at the bears and the sudden crackling of blue electricity made Akamatsu jump. "A taser gun?!"

Kaede didn't get the chance to ask where it came from as Kokichi fended off the robotic threats, and she felt increasingly paralyzed as well as weak while she watched the much smaller, much less healthy looking male protect her. She wanted to do something she had to, and she got the chance when she saw Monodam sneaking around to get Ouma from behind. Without much thinking involved, she quickly slipped off her backpack and flung it at him before grabbing the other teen's arms and making a break for it.

The journey back through the narrow crawlspace was even more anxiety inducing, and Kaede barely even noticed until she got out back into the girl's bathroom that Kokichi was not behind her. She was too overcome with relief to have the realization hit her too hard, but once the grating noise of the wall closing reached her ears, her head snapped around to see that she was in the girl's bathroom, nothing odd or mastermind-like about it.

"K...Kokichi?"

<| |>


	13. Begonia Garden

<| |>

To say Kaede was panicked would be an understatement. Her heart was going so fast it was almost as if it was about to painfully burst in her chest, and questions of Kokichi's well being filled her thoughts. Sure, he was antagonistic and had left her mind spinning, but he still seemed to have some good intent, even if she showed it in his own, twisted way.

Kaede had tried to replicate the pattern Kokichi had pressed against the tiles of the bathroom wall, but no matter how many combinations she tried, she came up empty handed. At this point she was drained, tired, and frantic as she finally exited the place where she'd lost the lying male. What could she do? She was an awful friend, and just an awful, worthless human being in general. She's sorry, she's so sorry, she's sorry-!!

"Kaede?" A familiar voice snapped Kaede out of her spiraling and she jumped to catch sight of a wary Shuichi. He kept a grip on the brim of his hat as he scanned her, and she felt an unintentional chill crawl up her back. Even this meek but pessimistic detective could be intimidating when he wanted to.

"O-Oh, Shuichi, hey!! What're you doing around here?" Kaede's voice was a bit shaky, much to her dismay, and she gave a sheepish chuckle, putting a hand over her chest. She didn't want to distrust him, but... the information she'd come across forced her to be a little suspicious.

"I try to get here before everyone in the morning... I think it's safer that way." Shuichi informed her after a brief pause, still appearing much more cautious than Kaede, even if she had gained a specific piece of information earlier, or at least had it basically proved to be true.

"Oh, so it's morning already?" Kaede wondered aloud, and in the back of her mind she wondered how long Kokichi had truly been trapped in the mastermind's lair. Shuichi seemed to narrow his gaze at the other girl's words, and she thought she could see him take a step back. "So, you've been up longer than I have?"

Kaede's eyes widened as she realized how incriminating she made herself look, especially in front of a detective, and she quickly attempted to cover her tracks- it wasn't like she did anything wrong, right?

"W-Well, yeah, I slept a lot through the day so I woke up at an odd time..." Kaede explained with a nervous chuckle, her eyes averting to the left. She heard Shuichi hum in response, and she couldn't really tell if he believed her or not, so she spoke again. "So... how are you feeling? I know things are kind of tough right now..."

"Yeah, 'tough'." Shuichi practically spat out the words as he gave a bitter chuckle, and Kaede sweatdropped as she gave her best reassuring smile ; she tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but the charcoal-eyed male quickly shrugged off her touch. "Hey, I know it's hard, but we just have to stay hopeful for now!! We can do this, just repeat that in your head over and over again- it works like a charm, I swear!!"

"Yeah, I guess." Shuichi seemed to notice how desperately Kaede was trying to bring his spirits up, so he offered a rare smile, and took her hand in his. At the unexpected gesture, the pianist felt red rush to her face, and a bright grin grew across her features. "You can always trust me, Shuichi, we'll get out together!!"

"Thanks, Kaede." Shuichi's smile grew as he squeezed Kaede's hand, and once he slipped his fingers out from hers she almost wished they'd stayed like that for a little longer. She nodded her head enthusiastically and she beamed with rosy cheeks, her skin tingling from the contact. "I'm happy to do it anytime, you know that!!"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Kaede." Shuichi nodded, still smiling as he began to turn around and walk away, although Kaede thought she saw his expression flicker into a darker one for a moment, but decided that it was just the shadow cast by the brim of his hat. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why he'd said tomorrow- why not today?

Kaede shrugged it off, though, and any other other thoughts were interrupted by the grumbling of her stomach. Giving an embarrassed giggle, she decided maybe she should get something to eat, plus it would be a good excuse of why she was in the academy so early in the morning.

It was a short walk to the dining hall, and Kaede ended up being the first one there- even before Kirumi!! Shuichi wasn't lying about getting there the earliest, after all. As soon as she entered the kitchen, however, she heard the door open once again, and in came Kirumi, who the blonde expected to be one of the firsts here every morning.

"Oh- Kaede, good morning. What are you doing up so early?" Kirumi's soothing voice was a welcoming thing after all these stressful revelations, and Kaede smiled weakly at the other girl. "I thought I got enough sleep yesterday, so I thought I'd just get up and help this morning."

"How nice of you, you truly are a selfless person : even after how distressed you've been, you're still thinking about us." Kirumi's comment made Kaede flush, and she bashfully adjusted the straps of her backpack, or at least going to do the familiar motion. Her backpack... ah well, she shouldn't pause so abruptly in the middle of a conversation!! "It's nothing like that, I just um, thought I'd make up how weak I looked out there. I know everyone is also suffering, so..."

"You don't need to explain yourself, I'm just happy you're here." Kirumi patted Kaede on the shoulder with a dainty smile before her clicking heels signaled that she was walking towards the kitchen. The latter stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, before calling out to the other girl. "Hey, Kirumi? Do you want me to do anything?"

"I'd rather you just relax..." Kirumi began, peeking out from around the corner, but seemed to realize how stubborn Kaede would be and shook her head. "I suppose you can set the table for me, would that be alright?"

"Of course, I'm on it!!" Kaede cheerfully replied, happy to be of help to the beautiful maid. A few beats of silence passed aside from plates clattering and the preparation of many different meals, and the pianist couldn't believe how capable Kirumi was. It almost made her feel bad, how much the other girl was doing, with no help at all...

Kaede's pitying thoughts were interrupted, though, when the doors to the dining hall opened once again. Curious to see who was also up this early, the blonde quickly paled once she made eye contact with a scowling Maki.

"O-Oh, morning, Maki..." Kaede managed to stutter out, trying her best to be polite, only for Maki to give a dismissive grunt in response. The former watched as the red-eyed girl sat down at the end of the table, and as the blonde set up the last few dishes, a sudden spark of resolve came to life inside her.

Kaede still remembered the closed off, yet shy girl she first met in that locker, and she's sure that the killing game has just made Maki a lot more... aggressive, that's it!! It might be dangerous, but she was still determined to break down the other girl's harsh walls. So, she finished up and slipped into the seat across from Harukawa, shooting her the best friendly smile the blonde could muster around the physically dangerous teen. "So... how are you doing this morning?"

"Fine." Was Maki's short and blunt answer as she directed a glare at Kaede, who sweatdropped a bit, but didn't give up. Let's see, conversation topics, conversation topics... aha!!

"Why don't we talk about how we got our talents? Here, I'll go first!!" Before Maki could protest, Kaede launched into the mundane spiel of how she gained her ultimate.

"Ever since I was little, I've been playing the piano!! It's just a great outlet for me, it's become a part of me at this point!! I won competitions and stuff like that, so much so that people actually started calling me Piano Idiot..." Kaede gave a sheepish chuckle at the last memory, before tilting her head and pointing at Maki. "Now, it's your turn!!"

Kaede looked at Maki expectantly, outspoken nature wavering slightly at the deadly scowl she was being given. Still, the brunette seemed to relent, the task maybe being a bit easier since it was so early in the morning when the former had confronted her.

"I grew up in an orphanage, so I was around a lot of kids." Maki eventually began in a curt fashion, glaring down into the cup of coffee Kirumi had given her during Kaede's rambling. She paused for a couple beats, sighing before she continued on. "We all sort of just cared for each other, and kids sorta just became drawn to me- it's not like I wanted it to happen."

"Well they must've seen the good in you, then!!" Kaede immediately picked back up, desperately wanting to put aside any grudges with Maki : those bitter feelings of anger just didn't sit well in her heart. The other girl gave her a doubtful look, raising an eyebrow before shaking her head. "I don't think that's the case-"

Before Maki could continue, the doors burst open once again, startling Kaede enough to make her jump in her seat. Looking over her shoulder with a weary expression to see a beaming Kaito, already energized this morning, she could tell. Beside him, she watched a sleepy Tsumugi take off her glasses and rub her eyes, before giving the pianist a happy little wave. "Good morning, Kaede!!"

"Oh, morning, Tsumugi, hey Kaito!!" Kaede quickly adorned a friendly smile and returned the wave, watching as Kaito plopped down beside an apprehensive Maki, Tsumugi taking the icy girl's other side. The purple-haired male sent her a grin paired with a thumbs up, biting into a piece of toast before speaking in a muffled tone. "Ya feelinf guh phis mornin?"

"Don't talk while you chew, idiot." Maki snapped, elbowing Kaito who coughed a bit, smiled, and then laughed as he patted her on the back. She of course flinched away, but he didn't seem to notice her piercing glare as he said, "Thanks for watching out for me, trusty sidekick, I knew I could count on you!!"

"I never agreed to that-" Maki began, glowering even more fiercely before, although there was a hint of embarrassment dancing across her features. Kaede cut in, though, answering Kaito's question. "Yeah, I'm alri-ighah!!"

Kaede was surprised to find herself yawning mid-sentence, and she blinked in shock, flushing as she heard the trio across the table snicker- even Maki seemed to have an amused smirk.

"Maybe you should get some sleep, Kaede, I understand how tiring it must be in... this sort of situation." Tsumugi suggested softly, adjusting her glasses as she flashed Kaede a sweet smile. Hesitantly, the pianist nodded and thanked her, saying goodbye to the three and leaving the astronaut and cosplayer to pester Maki.

Once Kaede opened the door to the dining hall, though, she felt a tight grasp pull her to the side, and she gasped loudly at the solemn smiling face of Kokichi Ouma.

"K-Kokichi, oh my gosh, you're okay-!!" Kaede practically teared up as she went to embrace Kokichi, who gagged and immediately pushed her away. He gave her a disgusted look, huffing as he rolled his eyes at her. "How many times do I gotta tell you, Goldilocks? I have standards."

"Yeah, ahaha, I'm sorry... I was just worried." Kaede sniffled with a relieved smile, exhaling as a huge weight was lifted off her chest. Kokichi stared at her for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something, but instead shoved something towards her ; her backpack, to be precise.

"Oh!! Thank you, I forgot about this!!" Kaede admitted, thanking Kokichi as she began to slip it onto her back. The boy standing across from her clicked his tongue, shaking his head with a groan. "Goldilooocks, the reason I had to go back was because you forgot it!!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kaede questioned, startled at the words and oblivious to what he meant. Kokichi sighed, running a hand through his purple hair before continuing.

"If you'd left that there, it would've been easily tracked back to you, and the mastermind might attack you, duhhh!!" Kokichi explained with an exasperated expression, punctuating his words by sticking his tongue out Kaede. She blinked a couple of times before the info fully registered in her brain, and as soon as it did, guilt spread like wildfire in her.

"O-Oh no, I'm so sorry!! That's not what I was intending when I did that-" Kaede quickly began to spew out apologies, but with seemingly no regard for anxiety, Kokichi held a patronizing finger to her lips. "Yeahh yeah, I know I know. You did it to protect me, so that's why I went back to get it!! Since you were too dopey too realize."

So that's why Kokichi went back? To risk his life to keep Kaede out of suspicion? Guilt hit her like a bullet train and she pursed her lips into a thin line, hugging herself with an air of regret. "I'm sorry, I really am, thank you so much...!!"

"Ugh, shut your trap, Goldilocks, you sound like an obnoxious broken record!!" Kokichi gave his usual carefree smile in response to Kaede's distress, effectively dismissing her turmoil. In a way, it was a relief : it was frustrating the way the purple-haired boy responded to her genuine worries, but it also helped to ease the lump of self blame in her throat.

"Alright, okay, yeah!! So..." Kaede accepted the end of that topic before hesitantly moving onto another, pausing before she lowered her voice into a whisper. "What should we do about what we found last night?"'

"You mean what I found?" Kokichi shot back in an instant, but he quickly dropped that impish façade to adorn a more serious expression. "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it- for now, I bet your dumb little brainless head didn't get much rest, yeah? So go the eff to sleep!!"

"A-Are you sure??" Kaede questioned, jumping a bit at Kokichi's sudden authoritative tone of voice : maybe that was where his talent came in. He didn't hesitate to nod back, sending her a cheeky wink as he slipped past her towards the dining hall. "Sweet dreams, princess~!!"

Kaede, now left alone with a frustrated blush settling on her features, decided she might as well take Kokichi's advice. It was still early, so it wouldn't hurt to sleep in a bit, right? On that note, she made her way back to the dorms, giving a hello to a few friends she passed before holing up in her room. The blonde hadn't realized how exhausted she was until her head hit her pillow, and just like that, she was out like a light.

The sun was slowly leaving it's perch in the sky by the time Kaede woke up, wiping away her drool and giving a content yawn. She'd been in these clothes for a while... so it wouldn't hurt to take a shower!! Just like the filthy despair that coated her, another hour washed down the drain, since she reveled in the nice, comfortable peace that being alone in such a small space provided.

Finally, Kaede stepped out of her room and into the courtyard, where shadows attempted to escape the object that caused them. The sunlight was slowly turning amber, and it was a very pretty sight. The pianist decided to enjoy the little space outside, which she'd avoided somewhat because of the cage- a grim reminder of how they were trapped. She pushed this thought out of her head however, forcing an optimistic smile as she began to walk along the path, slowly making her way towards the bench area when a familiar face caught her eye.

"Oh, hey, Angie!!" Kaede called out in greeting, waving to Angie, who appeared to be gathering flowers on one of the picnic tables. The white-haired girl quickly perked her head up, though, and flashed her own sunny smile in return to the other girl's. "Oh, how divine for you to come visit me, dear Kaede!! I was in need of a muse!!"

"Muse?" Kaede wondered aloud, walking up to Angie, looking curiously at the arrangement of pretty blossoms the other had gathered. The artist nodded her head enthusiastically, snatching up Akamatsu's hand in an instant and guiding her to sit down under the canopy, where sunlight filtered through in graceful patterns. "Indeed!! He believes a delightful female such as yourself deserves a floral sign of dignity!!"

"Um, what?" Kaede didn't exactly get the answer she wanted, but as soon as her eyes drifted towards the gathered materials, a light bulb shown in her gaze. "Ah, you want to make me a flower crown?? That'd be amazing!!"

"Nyahaha, you betcha!!" Angie let out a spur of bubbly laughter, clapping her hands over her head in glee. In the next moment, she seemed to wilt and held a thinking position ; however, she never took on a frown. Kaede instantly became worried and reached out to tap her on the shoulder, intending to gain her attention. "What's wrong?"

"Sadly, Angie could only discover three kinds of flowers..." Angie began, gesturing towards the assortment of flowers, which happened to be pink, red, and white ; she brightened quickly, though, and gave an assured nod. "But that simply means He deems these the flowers that fit Kaede the best!!"

"Oh, awesome, then!!" Kaede wasn't exactly following where the one-sided conversation led, but she gained the impression that Angie had resolved it on her own. The shorter girl seemed to hum in acknowledgement of the lavender-eyed girl's sentiment, and began to weave together the abundance of flowers. A few beats of silence passed between them, before the pianist decided to make conversation.

"So, did you make flower crowns a lot before you came here?" Kaede asked politely, and without looking up, Angie still somehow managed to make her bright beam apparent. "Mhm!! Althooough, it was a bit hard to find safe flowers to use to do so."

"What do you mean?" Kaede asked in confusion, blinking at Angie without truly grasping the context of what she said. The ocean-eyed girl was happy to share more information, though, and gave a chipper reply. "Oh, on Angie's island many carnivorous plants disguise themselves as pretty flowers, but don't worry, He guides me to avoid harm!! Can't say too much about the less divine influenced villagers, though."

"O-Oh..." Kaede wasn't too sure how to respond to that, but didn't want to be rude either, so she simply watched as Angie continued making an eloquent floral wreath. The sun was grazing over the trees by the time she finished, seeming to want to put extra time and care into her product instead of just giving the blonde a simple flower crown.

"Nyahaha, here, Kaede, your divine crown!!" Angie announced with her signature, light-hearted laugh, plopping it down on Kaede's head, making them both give radiant smiles.

"Thank you so much, this is wonderful!!" Kaede thanked her gratefully, an adored look directed at both Angie and the present just above her peripheral vision. Yonaga simply gave a delighted bow before perking back up, turning back to the leftover flowers. "It is my pleasure, but you should be thanking Him, since He is the one who chose to make the gift for you!!"

"Oh, um, thank you, Sir...!!" Kaede stumbled through a half hearted thank you, and Angie gave her an approving nod. She seemed intent on planning what to do with the other flowers, though... but before the blonde could even ask, her question was answered.

"He says Angie should make a prayer shrine with these flowers to ensure our peaceful passing into the afterlife!!" Angie blurted out all of a sudden, and the dark reality of the situation began to crush down against Kaede once again. That's right... all she'd done was goof around today, how could she neglect their safety like this? She could feel herself spiraling once again, feeling the weight of responsibility she'd took upon herself, the responsibility of protecting every one of them.

"No, no...!!" Kaede breathed out, a cold sweat breaking out along her brow as she clutched at her head, which was wracked with a skull splitting pain. She almost thought she'd black out, but was snapped out of it when she felt a soft, reassuring pair of hands cup her face. "Huh...?"

"Kaede, do not worry." Kaede slowly focused on the smiling, peaceful Angie, who looked so confident as she gazed up at the other girl. "He will protect us, so have no fear!! Everything will be fine."

Everything... fine. Angie was right. Everything would be fine- because Kaede knew Kokichi was already building up a plan. She was, too. They'd kill the mastermind and get out of here with everyone, she just knew it!! She believed, she had hope, she... had to believe in this so called truth of hers, because what else could she do?

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Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed the freetime events!! The first murder happens next chapter, put your guesses down below for who it is!! ;)


	14. Swan Song

It's the time you've all been waiting for!! The first death is about to happen, and I hope you enjoy it!! i wonder if you've seen through my tiny subtle hints? Anyways, be sure to comment your opinion if you've read, even if it's a simple comment of what you wish could be better, i'll still cherish it!! Now, enough rambling, enjoy the chapter!!

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The final day. The last chance they had to save everyone, and it doubles as the last day at least one of them supposedly had to live.

Kaede's chest was crushed with anticipation, her heart throbbing painfully as she stared at her face in her bathroom mirror. She looked so distraught and tired, so hollow. So in despair. It hurt to see herself this way, but she had to push through- for everyone. She had to save them, she had to...!!

Kaede wasn't worth anything if she didn't save her friends. That was the cold, hard truth.

Kaede swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and tried to regather her unraveled sense of positivity, resolve forming a hardened look in her usually shining eyes : they were a deeper shade of purple, one that spoke of true determination. She finally stepped out of what felt like her own bunker, a save point before she dived into this dangerous level that she could not turn back from, and if she failed- well, you can imagine what happens then.

Kaede moved quickly through her dorm room, slinging her backpack on and stepping out into the dorms. No one was out yet... everyone was most likely in the dining hall already, or hiding away in their rooms, for good reason, she might add. They must all be so terrified, missing their loved ones, and just wanting go home. The pianist felt her eyes burn for a moment, but she vigorously rubbed any stray tears away with her sleeve before pushing onward : she couldn't give up now, there was still hope waiting for all of them!!

Kaede made her way into the academy, feeling an immense sense of urgency pressing down upon her. It was eerily quiet in the halls, and only small, hushed conversation reached her ears as she opened the doors to the dining hall.

Kirumi, Ryoma, Kiibo, Kokichi, Korekiyo, and Tsumugi were there. Six people, seven including Kaede. She felt her stomach drop, fists clenching at the disappointing sight in front of her. These were the only ones who came...?

"Gooood morning, Goldilocks!!" Kokichi chirped happily, snapping Kaede out of her pessimistic haze with a wave and a smile. She weakly smiled back at him and approached the table, sitting down next to the supreme leader. "M-Morning... so, do we um, know where everyone is?"

"I believe Angie is putting together a ritual for her god, Atua, supposedly trying to ensure our passing goes peacefully." Korekiyo informed Kaede, and she quickly was reminded of yesterday's encounter : she was so ready, so sweet... none of them should die, but at least Angie was there to try and make it a pleasant end, if that was even possible.

"Oh, I know where most of them are!!" Tsumugi piped up with a fragile look of cheerfulness gracing her features, obviously trying to pretend like everything wasn't going terribly wrong, which they were. "Kaito made a fighting group with Maki, Rantaro, Himiko with the help of Tenko, Tenko herself, and Gonta. They should be in one of the classrooms, right next to the stairs that lead towards the library!!"

"Speaking of which, I must send them some refreshments..." Kirumi mused from the kitchen, beginning to wrap up things to take to the students who planned to take the defensive. Ryoma remained quiet, and oddly enough, so did Kokichi, who seemed to be in severe contemplation of something. That's when Kaede remembered the two left out of the explanation. "What about Miu and Shuichi??"

"Ah, I tried to get Miu earlier..." Kiibo began, nervously gripping his metallic collar in the process. "She refused to come out of her room, and I assume Shuichi has done the same."

"Th-Then I should go check on him- them!!" Kaede stuttered, quickly rising from her seat ; she didn't know why she felt so anxious about Shuichi being alone, but something told her that she just needed to see him. She had a feeling... everything would seem a little bit less horrid with him around, even if he was a pessimist.

"Yes, that's a good idea, I'll go and see Miu." Kiibo agreed, standing up as well ; Kirumi had already left, so they would be leaving Ryoma, Tsumugi, Korekiyo, and Kokichi alone in the dining hall. Well, at least they'd have each other!! As she made for the door, however, she felt a small tap on her shoulder, a soft breath tickling the back of her neck. "I'll handle it, don't worry. Keep everyone feeling optimistic, since that's the one thing I can't do and you can."

Kaede jumped at Kokichi's voice, and turned her head around to see him before she turned towards the doors just to see him slip through them. She wanted to follow after him, wanting to know what he meant, even though she already knew- most of all, she wanted to tell him he didn't have to do this alone. Kiibo stepped in front of the blonde with a worried gaze, however, and blocked her path. "Is everything alright? Is Kokichi bothering you?"

"O-Oh, no, I'm fine!! Thanks for worrying, though!!" Kaede hastily refuted his suggestion, choking out sheepish laughter, to which Kiibo skeptically raised an eyebrow at, but seemed not too dwell on her words. "Well, alright, just remember, I can record him if he does anything sketchy, so he'll be charged not only for robophobia, but for harassment, too!!"

"Yeah, thank you, Kiibo." Kaede gave him a fond smile and patted him on the shoulder to reassure him everything was alright before they began walking to the dorms. A heavy silence passed between the two, but neither of them attempted to break it : if you could see inside their minds, you would most likely see them picturing the worst thing that could've happened to Shuichi and Miu, i.e., finding them dead.

Just as Kiibo and Kaede entered the dorms, the announcement bell chimed in, sending an eerie chill up both of their spines- well, one of their spines, that is. The blonde snapped her head to look up at the monitor in the dorms, a grimace settling on her features and fists clenched at her sides. There was so much hatred in her as she stared at the laid back Monokuma, drink in hand, as he gave them a cheery wave.

"Helloooo my dear students!! Happy to see me, I'm sure!! I hope you haven't forgotten, one of you better kill someone before the end of the day, or else you'll all face death~!! Just one measly old corpse shouldn't hurt compared to the rest of you, riiiight? So kill, kill, kill already!! Until you do, I'll play my mix tape to get you in the mood, puhuhu."

Monokuma's were equally jarring and incomprehensible, but before Kaede could even begin to unravel his meaningless words, a horrid tune began to echo through every bit of her. It made her skin crawl, made her anxious, and worst of all, when she looked up at the screen, she saw a disgusting sight.

White pawns, representing the spotless, and one black pawn, representing the blackened, were shown on the screen ; various scenes in which the white pawns were killed in a gruesome way, and above all of it, one black pawn was the winner.

The cacophony drowned out all other sound, and Kaede clamped her eyes shut as she put her hands on her ears, attempting to block out the earsplitting noise. Kiibo seemed equally distressed, and attempted to raise his voice loud enough for her to hear.

"I'll make sure Miu is okay!!" Kiibo shouted, and after a few heartbeats of processing, Kaede nodded in affirmation. She watched him stiffly walk towards Miu's room, having to bang on it more than a few times to get her attention. Finally, the sniveling, and obviously distressed inventor peeked out to glance at the robot for a second, before dragging him into the room. The other blonde wondered whether she should help the boy out, but decided he could handle himself, and she trusted the person he was with. So then, the lavender-eyed girl trained her sight onto Shuichi's door.

It almost felt like Kaede's heart was beating in rhythm with the ghastly music playing as she approached her detective friend's door, steeling herself when a sudden wave of apprehension swept through her. Why was she so nervous? Well, one reason could be because of the music, but then, maybe she feared for Shuichi's safety- or maybe her own? Still, the blonde pushed it away with a self-assured smile, and rapped her knuckles against the door.

Kaede waited for a few minutes and went to knock again, only for the door to creak open, showing a sliver of relieved Shuichi's face : was he expecting her?

"Ah, Kaede...!!" Kaede could hear Shuichi say, and she went to take a step in until Shuichi inched the door a little bit more closed. He sent her an apologetic look, and although it stung a bit, she understood why he would behave that way.

"Hey, Shuichi, is everything okay?" Kaede called out to Shuichi, trying to radiate positivity, even if it wasn't genuine. He gave a glass smile and eyed her through the door, and she could hear his quiet voice just barely. "Yeah... I'm just, nervous."

"Shuichi..." Kaede felt worry grip her heart, and she tilted her head with a pitying look. She truly understood why Shuichi felt this way, and the blonde was about to give him reassuring words when the charcoal-eyed boy spoke again.

"Can... can you get me something? Th-That vermilion book I showed you earlier, I... I think it would help calm me down right now." Shuichi's timid voice lightly requested Kaede to retrieve that collection of stories, specifically Sherlock Holmes, if she remembered correctly. Without hesitation, the pianist agreed to these terms, eager to help out her friend. "Of course, I remember where it is, you can count on me!!"

"Thanks... Kaede." Shuichi's lips curled up into yet another smile as he thanked Kaede, and she bobbed her head once again, twirling on her heel to navigate towards the library. The murder anthem was still blasting, but now that she had something to do, a motivation, she felt like she could push through it.

Time seemed to fly, and Kaede soon found herself descending into the basement ; she contemplated checking up on Kaito's group, but decided it was best to not keep Shuichi waiting. Akamatsu entered the library, wincing as a migraine began to form from the obnoxious tune that made it near impossible to hear anything else.

Kaede couldn't stall, though, and she forced herself to continue, eyes scanning the bookshelves until she came across the small alcove she'd been crying in days before ; Shuichi had comforted her here, and the thought made her heart warm.

With a smile on her face, Kaede ran her fingers along the spines of the books until she spotted familiar golden letters, beckoning her like a calming memory. With an assured hum, she stepped forward, slowly slipping it out from the nook it was placed in. There was a slight resistance for a second, much to the pianist's confusion, but after a second or two, she had it safely in her grasp.

Kaede was about to turn on her heel when a flash of something shiny caught her eye, and curiously, she leaned in closer to look at it. A strand of clear string, leading upwards...? Her eyes slowly followed it, and the pianist tilted her head up to see where it ended. And then, like a foolish mouse with a trap snapping down on its spine, she came face to face with herself.

Kaede saw her own reflection, a distorted one, at that. Large, lavender eyes stared back at her, and just like that, a shot put ball was inches away from crushing her skull. She didn't have time to scream, to move, to do anything but watch as the weapon slowly made its way to her.

There were no final thoughts running through Kaede's mind, and she slowly felt her eyelids close to blink, but when she opened them, the world was whirling around her. At the drop of a shot put ball, she felt a severe pressure on the front of her throat, and felt her body being ripped backwards, limbs flailing like a useless rag doll as the world blurred past her.

Even as Kaede crashed against the ground, she was too winded to scream, desperately struggling to catch her breath. One shaky hand moved its way to clutch at her sore throat, vision fading in and out : that would surely bruise. Her ears were ringing, she felt deaf... the music probably helped ensure that feeling.

Kaede watched as a blurry figure loomed over her, a sense of deja vu washing over her as a familiar, velvety voice called out to her with a stiff tone. "Are you okay?"

"Ma...ki?" Kaede's hoarse voice croaked, and indeed it was, a tense Maki checking over her form. Suddenly, the realization of what just happened struck the blonde like lightening, and she jolted up, coughing as she looked around wildly. "Wh- how? What happened?!"

"Calm down." Maki sternly asked, but her usual cold tone seemed a bit more concerned as she kneeled down beside Kaede, eyes scanning over the other girl's form. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine... my throat just hurts." Kaede managed to get out, wincing as she rubbed the aforementioned area. Maki clicked her tongue, eyes darting down with a look that almost seemed to be apologetic, which was unexpected coming from the brunette. "S... Sorry about that. I just needed to get you out of the way."

"Out of... the way?" Kaede wondered, and with a spinning mind, she slowly looked over to the place she'd just been. A shot put ball, sitting right there harmlessly, where she had just been. "I-If you did that, then who-?"

"Someone tried to kill you." Maki sure didn't hesitate, huh? Wait, what?! Panic painfully coursed through Kaede's veins as the realization hit her, eyes widening in horror. If... that was placed there, then did that mean...? "Shuichi!!"

"What-? Hey!!" Maki watched in apprehension as Kaede scrambled to her feet, stumbling a bit, but otherwise beginning to bolt towards the library's exit. If that had been specifically set there, then that means the intended target was Shuichi!! Was he okay? Oh god, please be okay, please-!!

The murderous music seemed to represent Kaede's urgency as she ran out of the academy and towards the dorms, breath ragged and broken. Thoughts of Shuichi filled her mind, and she felt tears sting her eyes : what if he...? No, she couldn't think like that, he had to be okay, he had to be!! Because... they had to get out together!!

Kaede was severely out of breath by the time she reached the dorms, but with protesting limbs, she kept her pace, desperateness fueling her with stamina unheard of by her piano playing body.

There it was, Shuichi's door!! It was- why was it open? Why... why was it open?? He was waiting for Kaede, that had to be it, he was waiting for the book!! Damn it, the book!! She had forgotten it, but he'd understand the reasoning, right? He must be so scared right now, she had to be with him...!!

The door, cracked open. Kaede's hand, pushing against it. Shuichi...

Shuichi's lifeless body, waiting in the room- waiting for her, and she never came.

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	15. Deadly Life

Who do you think set up the trap in the library? Comment your ideas!!

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It was so quiet, deafeningly so. The music was gone, Kaede's scream was gone, Maki's cursing was gone, and even as students gathered around with worried shouts, she heard nothing.

Shuichi's final expression was terrified : he was slumped against the food of his bed, eyes wide and bloodshot, and some lime-like frothy foam was dripping out of his mouth and onto his hat that was upside down in his lap. He looked so, so scared, so afraid of his own death- it was heartbreaking.

Kaede stared at him with her own imitation of his lifeless features, eyes swimming with tears and head reeling with agony. Agony? No, this was despair, no doubt about it. She'd cared for Shuichi, bonded with him, depended on him, and maybe even took a romantic interest in him, despite their clashing personalities. They practically made eye contact as she leaned against the door frame, slumped against the floor and just staring at the missing piece in her heart.

Now Shuichi was gone. Forever. Someone had... someone had killed him... someone... the mastermind!! Kaede felt something flicker inside her, slowly thawing the icy slumber that dragged at her limbs and hope. The mastermind, that disgusting traitor. They'd killed him- they'd killed her friend!!

Kaede at this point was trembling with anger, but she was snapped out of her daze as she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. Jolting, she snapped her red eyes up to look at a concerned Kirumi, whose presence automatically made things a little less... intense, for the blonde.

"Are you feeling alright, Kaede?" Kirumi asked with a small frown, and out of habit, Kaede forced a reassuring smile back. She wasn't feeling fine, she would remember this for the rest of her life, and she could never forgive whoever did this.

"I-I'm... fine!!" Kaede stuttered out, obviously lying as she shakily got to her feet so she wouldn't seem as pathetic as she really was. Kirumi briefly fussed over her as she got up, the maid making sure the other girl was stable, at the very least. The taller female looked as if she was about to say something, but of course a familiar headmaster had to interrupt their conversation.

"Ohohoho, looks like last minute, some alpha ultimate decided to kill!!" Monokuma commented coyly, a delighted grin painting his features as he stood just behind where Shuichi's head lay on the foot of his bed. For the first time, Kaede had gathered her senses enough to notice that everyone was there, crowded in Shuichi's room or right outside the door.

"What the hell are you talking about?! You did this!!" Kaito accused angrily, baring his teeth as he pointed at Monokuma. From the other side of Shuichi, Kokichi rolled his eyes at the former male, and it was amazing how he convincingly carefree he looked, even with a cadaver rotting next to him. "Sorryyyy, it's stated in the rule book that Monokuma can't directly harm us unless we break a rule!!"

"Wh-What?! No, that means-!!" Kaito's eyes darted back and forth between Monokuma, Kokichi, and Shuichi, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Leaning against the wall with a relatively calm but serious expression, Rantaro addressed the elephant in the room. "So, I guess we better clear this up- did Shuichi break one of the rules, or..."

"Nope, mister goodie two shoes died with no help from me!!" Monokuma threw his hands up in the air with a little hop, sinister energy coming off of him in waves. Kiibo stared at the other robot in apprehension, but forced himself to say what everyone was thinking. "So that means that-!!"

"Yep!! One of you kiddos killed dear Shuichi!!" Monokuma announced, and forced everyone to face the fact that they oh so desperately tried to ignore. They were all doubting each other... but Kaede wouldn't, she knew that the one who killed Shuichi was never really their friend!! Before she could voice her opinions though, the despairful bear continued speaking. "Now, come forth blackened, you've earned your own ticket straight out of here!!"

A beat of silence passed, and then a minute as everyone nervously eyed each other, but no one claimed their perk. Monokuma tilted his head in confusion, an innocent look of obliviousness plastered against his features. "Whaaat? You want the class trial? Oh I see, my mixtape's visuals must've enticed you too much... but that's fine, it's investigation time, then!!"

What? No one was going to take advantage of the perk? While it was confusing for some, Kaede knew why. The mastermind wanted them to go through this awful class trial, and then they'd kill them all!!

"Now, to help with your investigation, your merciful headmaster will give you a monofile!! A.k.a., a small little autopsy report, since none of you are junior detectives : or at least now you aren't!!" Monokuma started once again, his cheeky tone sending venomous rage through Kaede.

"Shut up...!!" Kaede hissed under her breath, but Monokuma simply laughed and waved his own monopad in the air. "Chop chop everybody, check the monofile out on your monopad and get ready for the class trial!!"

Begrudgingly, Kaede followed his instructions, wanting to gather as much evidence as she could to expose the mastermind. As her screen flickered to life, a plethora of words became displayed on screen.

!! Monokuma Death File !!

Victim : Shuichi Saihara . Ultimate Detective . 15 . Male

Time : 9:24 am

Location : Shuichi Saihara's dorm room.

Cause of death : Poisoning.

Wounds : No external or internal wounds

"Poisoning...?" Kaede questioned aloud, processing the information with furrowed eyebrows. From beside her, Kokichi popped up to peek over her shoulder, making her flinch a bit in surprise. "A-Ah, Kokichi..."

"Yep, it's me!!" Was it just Kaede, or did Kokichi's voice lack its normal lively nature? "And yeah, poisoning, because you can obviously see there aren't any marks on his body- unless you wanna undress him. Wanna see how big he is, Goldilocks?"

"Can we just... not do this right now." Kaede almost felt flustered, but then she dropped her gaze once again to the dead Shuichi, and any amusement about the question vanished. Kokichi blinked at her blankly for a moment but just continued to smile before turning his attention back to the corpse. "Guess that's a big old nooo then, well, let's go look for the murder weapon!!"

"What-?? Hey!!" Kaede nearly dropped her monopad as Kokichi latched onto her arm, dragging her out of the dorms. It reminded her of a few days ago, still a harsh, but more forgiving time- before one of them had breathed their last breath.

Time seemed to fly in a dizzyingly tense fashion as Kaede found herself in the storage facility- how did Kokichi even know where to go? She watched as he dipped behind one of the rows of various items, and slowly, she followed after him. As the blonde stepped into the isle, a fuzzy memory took hold of her mind ; Shuichi warning Miu about the rat poison, cold, but still kind in his own way.

"Shuichi..." Kaede murmured wistfully, reaching out to pick up one of the bottles, only to find that it was significantly lighter than expected. Fluttering her eyelashes in confusion, she used her free hand to pick up another, noticing a great difference of weight between both of them. Was... this one used?

"Bingo, you've got it right!!" Kaede nearly dropped both of the bottles as Kokichi peeked through the shelves, startling her quite badly. Snapping her attention back to him, she frowned and gave him a disapproving look. "What do you mean, I've got it right?"

"Rat poison, that's probably what was used!!" Kokichi pressured once again, and Kaede's eyes widened in surprise as her grip tightened on the bottle : so this was what was used to kill Shuichi... "Why do you think that?"

"Well, it's nearly over half empty, pluuuus what else would it have been used for?? We don't really have a rodent problem, you know." Kokichi explained, and hesitantly, Kaede nodded in agreement. "Okay, that... makes sense."

!! Truth Bullet Obtained !!

"Hey, while we're here, I want to check out the library." Kaede told Kokichi, and she thought back to the life threatening ordeal she'd been put through previously- something meant for Shuichi. Either way, they still got him... The purple-haired male cocked his head up at her in curiosity, but simply shrugged before darting off, apparently leading the way once again.

"H-Hey, can you wait for me-?! Ugh, he's gonna be the death of me..." Kaede complained under her breath, sighing before she began to hurry after him, feeling a sense of urgency, herself. She wondered if they'd cleaned up the failed death trap? How had they even gotten it to work?

Answers were hopefully going to be found once Kaede entered the library, and things appeared undisturbed from when she'd last been there. The shot put ball was left in the same spot of impact from earlier, and it looked as though no one else had interfered with the library since she'd been here last.

Kokichi had beat her to the nook she'd nearly been killed at, seemingly scanning the row of books- there was one missing, though, that being the book she was supposed to get for Shuichi. Kaede's eyes misted over and she stepped forward, slowly picking up the collection of Sherlock Holmes stories.

Kaede had been crying, hopeless, and Shuichi went out of his way to comfort her. He sat with her, gave her advice, and opened his heart to her. God, it hurt, it hurt so much, every time she thought about him it felt like she was fazing in and out of reality, but these memories seemed to pop up wherever she went.

"Heyyy, what's this?" Kokichi's lilted voice disrupted Kaede's reminiscing, and with sluggish movements, she directed her attention towards him. "What are you talking about?"

"This thing, duh!!" Kokichi responded rather vaguely, and with a frustrated huff, Kaede decided she'd see for herself. He was curiously peering at his own reflection in the shot put ball that'd missed her by a hair, the weapon quickly causing her unease.

"O-Oh, earlier, someone set that up to hit Shuichi, but it nearly got me instead." Kaede explained with a solemn expression, and Kokichi blinked at her before rolling his eyes. "Wellll, you've gotta explain how it happened!! What did ya do leading up to when you almost died, plus, why'd did ya even go in the library? Didn't think an airheaded blonde like you was a reading type."

"Died?" The word sent unsettling shivers up Kaede's back, and she knew it impacted her so much because it was the truth. She nearly lost her life... "Sh... Shuichi asked me to get a book for him, er, this one right here, and I pulled it out of the bookshelf, but then I saw this weird string and-"

"You mean this one?" Kokichi interrupted her to hold up something, and it took a moment for Kaede to see what he was presenting her. She leaned in a bit closer, and when light caught on the thin string, causing her to realize what it was. "Oh, that's it!! I saw that string and followed it upwards, and then that's when the shot put ball nearly hit me!!"

"I see, I seeeee..." Kokichi hummed childishly, his own violet gaze going to inspect where the string led upwards, going all the way to the top of the bookshelf until it continued out of sight. How were they going to get up there? As Kaede pondered this question, the other teen's movements went unnoticed until she was startled to see a ladder towering over the spot right next to her.

"What-?" Before Kaede could've even questioned the newfound equipment, Kokichi had already begun scrambling up the ladder, and worry caused her to reach forward with a shout. "H-Hey, where are you going?!"

"I'm following the string of course!! I thought I'd go up first so you wouldn't be indecent- ohohoho, unless you wanted me to see up your skirt, that is?" Kokichi punctuated the end of his sentence by wriggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, and with reddened features, Kaede shook her head in exasperation. "No, that's not what I- ugh, just go ahead already."

A moment of silence passed between them, but then curiosity got the better of Kaede and she couldn't help but ask : if he said all these suggestive things, then...

"H-Hey, Kokichi?" Kaede bashfully calls out, and she doesn't know quite why she's asking this. Maybe it was the death of a love interest, or the longing for some sort of bond to take shelter in. "Do you... do you like me? You just say all these strange and-"

"Pfft- are you serious, Goldilocks?!" Kaede felt her face grow hot with embarrassment as Kokichi burst out into laughter, and she shot him an indignant glare. "What's so funny?! It's-It's not my fault you say weird stuff all the time!!"

"Oh my sweet, sweet ditzy blonde..." Kokichi chuckled as he slumped over the edge of the bookcase, both of them perfectly representing Alice and the Cheshire Cat. "You see- I'm a liar. Why do you think i constantly make advances like that?"

"Because, um..." Kaede stood in thought for a moment, contemplating it before you could practically see the light bulb glow over her head. "...Because you're really not interested in that stuff at all!!"

"Bingo, baby!!" Kokichi exclaimed, and suddenly it all came together ; even his clothes were symbolic of the asexual flag!! He snapped Kaede back to the task at hand, though, when metal squeaking caught her attention. The violet-haired male had climbed his way towards the vent, and was now pulling on what appeared to be yet another string, which opened and closed the vent.

"What's that?" Kaede questioned, taking a few steps forward to get a closer look. Kokichi flashed a smirk over his shoulder and skipped back down to the ladder. "Well, ya see Goldilocks, it looks like our little string friend is hooked up to the vent."

As Kokichi exclaimed, he tugged on the string that still hovered loosely where it had been disconnected from the book.

!! Truth Bullet Obtained !!

"I don't... understand." Kaede mumbled, trying to figure out how exactly the whole thing worked. Kokichi was already pulling her along once again, however, back towards the dorms. At this point she just gave up and let him take her wherever he deemed necessary, this time the destination being an agitated Kaito standing in the courtyard.

"Oh, hello there my dear Kaito!!" Kokichi cheerfully sang, and a perturbed Kaito scowled at him as he scratched the back of his neck. Kaede felt bad for the astronaut, she knew personally how grating Ouma could be- right now, though, it was sort of distracting her from... Shuichi.

"This really isn't the damn time for your bullshit!!" Kaito growled, baring his teeth at Kokichi with skin flushing an angry red : he barely knew Shuichi, had been insulted by Shuichi, and he still felt the loss of the detective's death.

"Whatevs, now spill the tea sis!! We are investigatin' here, and honey, we need your testimoooony!!" Kokichi drawled, voice dripping with sass, and Kaede was reminded of a beauty youtuber... Kaito was thrown out of the loop, though, jaw hanging open in disbelief, so the pianist jumped in to translate.

"Can we have your alibi? You were with a lot of other people, right?" Kaede asked as pleasantly as she could, smile more than a little strained : but she had to be strong, she needed to get revenge, she needed to lead everyone to freedom!! For Shuichi's sake.

"Oh, yeah!! We were planning to make a last stand with me, Maki, Gonta, Tenko, Himiko, and Rantaro. Plus, Kirumi came and stayed a bit to give us breakfast for about ten minutes." Kaito explained, and he gained a sudden spurt of conviction as he pounded his fists together. "So that means all of us are good, we were there together the whole time!!"

"The whole time...?" For some reason, Kaede felt as if there was a hole in his group's alibi, but she decided now was not the time to pursue it.

!! Truth Bullet Obtained !!

Next stop was the dorms, and as soon as Kaede entered, she noticed Ryoma by the entrance- well, that was surely a step up from their first encounter.

"Damn it... if someone had just killed me and taken the perk, we wouldn't be doing this right now." Ryoma cursed himself, remorse tainting his features as he gripped the brim of his hat. The action reminded her of Shuichi... wait, Hoshi wanted to sacrifice himself??

"W-Wait don't say that, you deserve to live just like everyone else, and we'll get out together!!" Kaede refuted, but her argument seemed to fall on deaf ears as Ryoma simply turned his head and gave a gruff sigh. She felt it was best to leave him to his own devices, but Kokichi approached with his ever-lasting smile. "Hey, you were with everyone in the dining hall, right? Can you give us the deets on if anyone moved out of there or not?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess I could." Ryoma seemed content enough to provide information, and maybe out of anxious habit, he began to chew on a candy cigarette. "Korekiyo and Tsumugi were with me the whole time- Kirumi came back after about fifteen minutes. I don't know where you were, Kokichi."

"Alrighty, thank youuuu!!" Kokichi responded in a carefree tone, seemingly unaffected by the suspicion in Ryoma's voice.

!! Truth Bullet Obtained !!

As Kaede and Kokichi approached the original scene of the crime, a certain inventor stood distressed, and her sobbing would've been comical if it wasn't so pitiful. Kiibo and Kirumi stood beside Miu, trying to calm the wreck of the girl who appeared to be having a breakdown, and Kaede couldn't blame her.

"H-Hey... what's wrong?" Kaede questioned tentatively, reaching a hand out to touch Miu, but the girl flinched away and continued her sniffling. Kiibo responded for her, and he looked unfazed as Miu clutched and cried against his arm. "Well, Miu ran off trying to get um... inebriated, and I followed after her. Kirumi must have noticed the commotion, too, and came after us. As soon as we got there, though, Miu claimed to see someone and ran right back the way she came."

"Quite the maneuver, if I do say so myself, she surely would've lost an attacker." Kirumi commented appreciatively, and maybe with a hint of amusement, but she became more serious as she focused on Kaede. "How has your investigation been going? Are you... holding up well."

The question was sweet, caring, and it made up for what Kaede lacked : not once had she stopped to grieve, to repair herself, and it didn't feel right. She couldn't slow down, she had to keep going, to avenge Shuichi. If she hesitated, she'd fall apart at the seams. It appeared Monokuma knew this as well, because that dreaded bell sounded off, sending unpleasant shivers up her spine.

"Alright my little lab rats, it's time for the class trial!! Please assemble in front of the Shrine of Judgement in the courtyard. It's on the other side of the foliage covered door!!" Monokuma announced nonchalantly, a glass of sparkling champagne in his paw. "From there you'll be escorted to the class trial, I hope you're ready!! Now, letsago!!"

And just like that, the last remnant of their daily life came to an end.

<| |>


	16. Our Class Trial

Who do you want to die the most so far? Leave your answers in the comments below!!

<| |>

There they were ; in an elevator going downwards, taking them deeper and deeper into despair ; Kaede could barely hear the rumbling of the machines over her chattering teeth. The air was heavy with anxiety, it was hard to breath, and everyone showed some semblance of apprehension on their features. Well, except for Kokichi, of course.

"Wow, a super cool elevator!! Hey hey, wonder if they're gonna make this malfunction and kill us right here!!" Kokichi chirped with a signature 'nishishi,' and Tenko shot him annoyed look, although she didn't look so sure herself. "S-Stop giving them ideas, degenerate!! And... we're going really far down..."

"If they actually killed us now, I wonder how long it would take us to hit the ground, kukuku..." Korekiyo chimed in with a muffled laugh, although the way he held his eyes firmly shut may have betrayed his actual nervousness. Himiko grumbled as she shifted in her spot, uncomfortably pressing her thighs together. "Nyeh, do you think they have bathrooms down there...?"

"Well, if you need to, I'm sure Tenko would be happy to be your toilet!!" Miu added with a snarky look, but her comment lost its impact as her knees nearly gave out. She yelped, immediately shrinking in size as Kiibo hurriedly swooped in to support the girl. "Miu, erm, that's a bit inappropriate."

Kaede took a shuddered breath and tried to block out the meaningless conversation that only added more pressure to her chest ; she hugged herself, stomach churning with nausea as her skin burned with sickly adrenaline. She didn't want to do this, she really didn't want to do this... couldn't it have been anyone else other than Shuichi? It was a disgusting thought, but they needed him as the ultimate detective, and she needed him as her friend. "Please... please let this all be some twisted dream..."

"I'm afraid not, Kaede." Kaede flinched at the sound of Kirumi's voice, and she regarded the other girl with a downcast grimace that didn't quite pass as the smile she hoped it would. "O-Oh, hey, Kirumi."

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to frighten you, and I suppose I was quite blunt as well." Kirumi apologized with a dip of her head, still as elegant and poised as ever. Kaede simply shook her head, dismissing her with a strained smile. "No, it's fine, you're right. I just wish..."

"You just wish you didn't have to suspect your friends." Kirumi finished, and with a grim chuckle, Kaede bobbed her head. "Yeah, about that..."

Kaede didn't have to, right? She knew it was the mastermind, but... who was the mastermind. Surely Kokichi knew, right?

"I understand how you feel, Kaede-" she does? "-but we can't stop our pursuit of the truth. Those who search for it have the possibility to change fate, even if the answer is bittersweet, at least you have a say in your choices."

"You're right, but-!!" Kaede didn't intend to tear up, she really didn't. She didn't want to look like a fool in front of the much stronger female, but Kirumi still stayed respectfully supportive.

"Look at me." Kirumi requested softly, and as Kaede did as she was told, the former used one gloved hand to wipe away the pianist's tears. The maid had a soft smile, one like bulletproof glass as she looked directly into the other girl's eyes. "You have a grand source of untapped potential, Kaede : I have faith that you can do this, and remember, you won't be doing this alone."

"Kirumi... thank you." Kaede breathed out with a tearful smile, and Kirumi's smile warmed as she straightened back up, giving them a platonic amount of space. As soon as their brief conversation ended, the elevator came to a jarring stop, and she stumbled a bit as she tried to wipe away any stray tears.

The doors slowly opened to reveal some sort of court room, with a beaming Monokuma on a throne in the back. One by one, everyone hesitantly entered, immediately wincing as their grating headmaster piped up. "Welcome to this wonderful courthouse made by yours truly!! Please look for the podiums with your names engraved on it and we can begin."

Kaede begrudgingly did so, refusing to give into his teasing aura, determined to stay steadfast and dignified. Shuichi... he was murdered by that disgusting mastermind, no doubt about it!! There killer was there in the room with them... and it was up to Kaede and Kokichi to find out who it was, while simultaneously saving their lives. She's unsure if she's prepared to find out who it is, but she has to find the truth no matter what, for Shuichi's sake.

!! Truth Bullets !!

Half empty bottle of rat poison ; a possible murder weapon that killed Shuichi, which is a half empty bottle of rat poison that the detective ironically warned Miu the dangers of in their first encounter.String contraption ; a string hooked up to some mystery object that when pulled, opens and closes the vent.Kaito's Testimony ; Kaito claims that he, Maki, Gonta, Rantaro, Himiko, and Tenko were all together in a classroom beside the stairs that descends into the library. Kirumi also visited and talked for about ten minutes.Ryoma's testimony ; Ryoma states that he, Korekiyo, and Tsumugi were all together, while Kirumi was gone for about fifteen minutes.Miu's testimony ; she, Kiibo, and Kirumi met each other in the storage facility, where Miu claims to have seen someone lurking about.

Kaede made mental notes in her head, going over all the information she found, but she still had no clue or even hint about who to suspect. She didn't even have time to contemplate further as Monokuma began to speak, apparently explaining the rules of the trial.

"Ahem!! Now then, let's start with a simple explanation of how the class trial shall go. During the trial you'll present your arguments for who the culprit is, and then vote for 'whodunnit.' Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person..." Monokuma trailed off for a second before coming back with an even more malicious tone, "I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will graduate the academy!!

"Also, refusing to vote will result in death, so you better vote for someone!!" Monokuma reminded with a cackle, and with a fist pump in the air, he announced, "Now let's get this crazy, awesome, crazy-awesome class trial underway!!"

"So it's starting, huh?" Kaede muttered, most towards herself as she gave a nervous chuckle. It didn't feel like reality, this all had to be a dream, right? Because if it wasn't... then she didn't know how long her happy go lucky demeanor would last.

"Nishishi, oh man- I haven't been in a trial in like, ever!!" Kokichi butted in with his usual devilish smirk, and even if it was a little uncalled for, Kaede couldn't help but crack a fraction of a smile : even in times like these, he still managed to liven up the room, and that was impressive. Tsumugi didn't seem to think the same way, though, and she broke into a light sweat. "You have experience in trials...?"

"Yeah, since I'm like, the Supreme Leader of evil and stuff, I've done a loooot of bad things." Kokichi replied cheekily, and Kaede couldn't help the pang in her heart at the thought of how Shuichi would dismiss the other boy's sketchy claims.

"How the hell do we even start?" Kaito complained, grinding his teeth as he seemed to hold in the urge to scream profanities, which was understandable in such a situation. Kaede was honestly surprised at how everyone was holding up so well, especially when one of them had... er, expired.

"Gonta never done trial before... not sure where to begin." Gonta added onto Kaito's earlier statement from our protagonist's right, and several students chimed in with their own various forms of agreement. Tenko jumped in to be a source of positivity in the chaos with her usual bright smile, which Kaede appreciated, even if they kept fumbling around to start the trial. "First, let's breath in and out!! Let's all remember our 'No, No, No's!!' No pushing, no running, and no talking!!"

"But communication seems mandatory in this type of situation!!" Kiibo objected, and lucky for him, he was androgynous enough not to be verbally attacked by Tenko, who merely chuckled and averted her eyes, "A-Ah, Tenko forgot about that!!"

"We shouldn't have to worry too much about our procedure, after all, this is a far cry from a normal trial." Kirumi assuaged calmly, which reassured a few in the eerily beautiful courthouse. She continued on, building an accurate foundation for them all amidst the chaos. "Each and everyone of us will fill the roles of a usual trial ; those being a potential culprit, lawyer, prosecutor, and jury member.

"Let us proceed with that in mind, shall we?" Kirumi finished off with a hint of assertiveness, and Kaede smiled, giving her an appreciative nod. She was just always so reliable!!

"How about the first thing we discuss? I've got an idea for that." Rantaro informed with his usual velvety voice, but Miu seemed much more reactive and sent him an accusatory glare. "Don't fuckin' get ahead of us!! I woulda thought a playboy like you knew the curt-acne of not coming first!!"

"Why don't we just um, listen to what he has to say?" Kaede proposed with a tentative attitude, but Angie threw caution to the wind as she butted into the conversation. "He has spoken- He says we should hear everyone's testimonies!!"

"I'm a good listener because I clean my ears. Once, I cleaned them so hard that they bled." Himiko droned to Kaede's left, and the blonde gave the shorter girl a strained smile, thinking they had been past the useless interjections. "What does that have to do with anything...?!"

"Anyways," Rantaro finally took back hold of the group and observed everyone with a serious grimace, "I'll start the conversation-"

"why didn't the culprit take advantage of the First Blood Perk?"

Rantaro's words echoed throughout the courthouse for a moment, his point being clearly important : why hadn't the blackened just avoided the trial? Korekiyo hummed in approval, contemplating the other's point through his long lashes. "Yes, I had noticed that as well. Strange, isn't it?"

"I bet they just had malicious intent- most criminals like to have their crimes discovered for their own fame." Ryoma explained with a shrug of his shoulders, and he did have a point, although Kaede would like to think there was a more... redeemable reason the culprit had chosen to risk their life.

"Oh, criminals like you, Ryoma?" Kokichi innocently batted his eyelashes at Ryoma, whose expression darkened as he averted his eyes spitefully downwards. Miu jumped into the conversation once again, obviously eager to get this over with and behind her. "Then Monokuma was the culprit!! The class trial was his own shitty idea, after all."

"Hey, maybe she's onto something!! I mean- none of us would actually kill or anything, right?!" Kaito agreed, and while Kaede understood the desperate need for that sentiment, she knew they'd already been over this before ; Rantaro understood this, too, as he shook his head at the other two. "Monokuma already told us he can't hurt a student if they didn't break a rule."

"So then Shuichi broke a rule or something, I always knew that perma-virgin was an effin hypocrite!!" Miu pressured once again, but this time, it was Maki who scoffed and rolled her eyes at the inventor. "We already clarified that Shuichi didn't break any rules, idiot."

"I-Idiot?!" Miu squeaked, but she otherwise held her ground with jittery teeth. "Monokuma is just fuckin' lying, then!!"

"Who, meee? I'd never a lie, nope, not at all!!" Monokuma shook his head vigorously, and Kaede hated to agree with him, but she knew he was right in some ways.

"There'd be no point in all of this if he lied, so we have no choice but to trust what he says," Kaede began hesitantly, but as she saw Miu shrink pathetically, her voice became more candid towards the end, "but that doesn't mean the one controlling Monokuma had nothing to do with it!!"

"Excuseth?!" Monokuma gave a dramatic gasp, but Kaede didn't let that disrupt the argument she was keen on making. "Is it in any way possible the mastermind behind all of this killed Shuichi?"

"Mastermind? Whuzzat?!" Monokuma slurred with a clueless tone of voice, and Kaede huffed in annoyance, not happy with how he was playing dumb. "Don't try and hide it, we know someone has to be behind all of this, so just tell us who it is already!!"

"The mastermind, huh? Odds are, it's one of us..." Ryoma mused, apparently less agitated then earlier since he held onto his usual casual behavior. As soon as he had finished speaking, Kokichi piped in once again, spindly arms crossed behind his head. "The mastermind is Kiiboy, everyone thinks so!!"

"D-Does everyone really think that?!" Kiibo exclaimed frantically, and Miu swooped in to raise a specific finger on each of her hands in defense of the robot. "They sure as hell better not!! Raise your hairy-ass hands if you think Kiibo is suspicious, and I'll give you something to be suspicious of, god damn it!!"

"We'll find out, no matter what!!" Kaede promised to everyone, to herself, and most of all, to Shuichi. Monokuma almost seemed to mock her thoughts as he let out a signature 'puhuhu,' disgustingly delighted by the discourse in the courthouse. 

"Before we find the mastermind, we must find the culprit." Korekiyo gently reminded, and Kaede begrudgingly turned away from the topic, knowing his words rang true. Rantaro backed up the taller male with a nod of his head, arms crossed in a mirroring way. "Well then, how 'bout we start by determining the sequence of events?"

"Gonta agrees with Rantaro, since Rantaro is very smart!!" Gonta chipped in with a large smile, and Rantaro returned it with his own bashful quirk of the lips. "Ah, thank you, Gonta."

"Then let us go over the sequence of events." Kirumi guided them forward on their path, and slowly but surely, the trial began to gain speed. Kaede believed they could do it, they could find the mastermind together, they had to. When this class trial is over, they'll know exactly who the mastermind was!!

"Shuichi's body was found just before the time limit!!" Tenko started slowly, almost looking afraid as if she'd get something that simple wrong. Korekiyo cupped a cheek in one of his bandaged hands and tilted his head, cat-like eyes gleaming with interest. "He was killed in his very own dorm room."

"Shuichi was alone in his room when He guided us to him- the culprit could've snuck up on him!!" Angie chirped with a twirl of a paint brush, beaming just as brightly as always. Ryoma closed his eyes for a moment, examining the idea before shaking his head. "How would someone have even gotten in there?"

"Someone probably checked in on him, and he just let 'em in." Kaito concluded passively, stating it like it was blatantly obvious as he scratched the back of his neck. Kaede thought back on the time when she'd met with Shuichi, and she shook her head at him, countering his statement with her own. "No, when I checked in on him, he wouldn't even open the door wide enough for me to see behind him!!"

"Wait, you saw Shuichi before he died?!" Kaito exclaimed in confusion, gaping at Kaede with a new light in his eye. Kiibo nodded from a few stands away, backing up her statement. "Affirmative, Kaede and I individually went to check on Miu and Shuichi."

"One ended up coming out of their room and the other didn't..." Tsumugi added softly, looking upwards as she propped her chin up with her hand. Maki sighed and combed a hand through her long, brunette hair in an absent minded fashion. "He stayed in his room to avoid death, and it still came knocking at his door."

"If Shuichi didn't let Kaede in, who else would he trust enough to even open the door? He seems to have had a suspicion of everyone else here." Kirumi wondered, a gloved finger held to her black-painted lips ; Kokichi rolled his eyes at the female, clicking his tongue teasingly. "Maybe someone broke in, duh!!"

"Using what?" Ryoma asked, eyes half lidded as he stared daggers into Kokichi, who, of course, was unaffected. Angie tilted her head childishly, throwing her hands up in the air with a shrug of her shoulders. "Angie doesn't think she saw his key anywhere!!"

"Knowing Shuichi, he'd probably hide it in a very efficient way, so efficient we wouldn't even have hopes of finding it." Rantaro looked to his side, a hand on his hip as he pursed his lips, "Even if we were looking for it we would encounter trouble, and we weren't looking."

"I suppose it's not possible to go back and check with a clear objective in mind?" Korekiyo inquired with an arched eyebrow, and Monokuma dismissively waved him away. "Of course not, your chance for investigating is over, that's on you, pals!!"

"I guess... we should just continue onto the next subject, then." Kaede awkwardly deduced, not exactly wanting to, but she reminded herself that they could always revisit the topic later. "Why don't we figure out the murder weapon?"

"Okie dokie!!" Kokichi bobbed his head in approval, and he opened his mouth to say something Kaede definitely didn't expect. "We all know it was that shot put ball, right?"

"Huh?" Kaede blinked in surprise, shocked still for a minute as the conversation swiftly carried on without her.

"Shot put ball?" Gonta questioned blankly, and Kaito looked just as lost before he perked up. "Oh, you mean that thing in the library? That sounds good to me!!"

"Are you seriously that idiotic-?" Maki looked incredulous, and she inhaled sharply before rubbing at her most likely aching temples. "Not only was the shot put ball in a totally different building, the monofile literally tells you the cause of death."

"It does?!" Kaito parroted, just as oblivious as before he had the answer handed to him, and Maki appeared thoroughly done with his shit. "Did you even read the autopsy report?!"

"The cause is death was..." Kaede thought about it for a moment, the pressure causing her to rethink everything through before she went through with her initial conviction. "Poisoning!!"

"That's true, if the monofile reads correctly." Kirumi supported Kaede, which made the latter feel much more assured as she continued. Now, what was he poisoned by again...?

"What could've poisoned him?" Tsumugi muttered, confusion tinting her glasses as she crossed her arms. One by one, classmates began to suggest theories on the murder weapon.

"Cleaning supplies?"

"Some sort of hidden potion Monokuma gave one of us?"

"Maybe he ate something bad- Kirumi was in charge of food!!"

"Rat poison, fuckin' duh-doy!!"

I agree!!

"Wait, that's it!!" Kaede interjected, and everyone looked at her in surprise before she smiled reassuringly at Miu. "Rat poison, that was what was used to poison Shuichi!!"

"Wait, for real?!" Miu seemed just as shocked as everyone else that she was correct, but she quickly recovered and gave a boisterous laugh. "Hell to the fuckin yeah I'm right!! Looks like shitty-me inherited some of my intelligence!!"

"Er, yeah." Kaede cracked a fraction of a smile as she laughed uncomfortably, but Kokichi had more to say on the matter. "Where'd you pull that braindead delusion from, Goldilocks?!"

"Kokichi, what are you saying...?" Kaede stared at Kokichi with wide, blatantly confused eyes, which he just returned with a devious simper. "Come on, tell us whyyy you'd think something so ridiculous was even a remote possibility!!"

"You really fit the useless blonde stereotype!!"

"It could be a million things before rat poison!!"

"Are you trying to reclaim a slur and use it against us? How ruuuude!!"

"We don't even have rat poison here!!"

No, that's wrong!!

"Actually, we do have rat poison- in the storage facility to be exact!" Kaede argued, pointing an accusatory finger at Kokichi, irritation simmering underneath her skin. "We saw one that was way less full then the others when we were investigating together, how did you just forget that?!"

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Oopsies!!" Just like that, Kokichi dropped it, and Kaede didn't get another chance to question him before Gonta uncertainly raised his voice. "Gonta does not understand, he sorry, but why was shot put ball there if not murder weapon?"

"Maybe someone just left it there?" Tenko suggested, but Kaede shook her head apologetically as she refuted the claim. "Truth is... that shot put ball nearly dropped on my skull and killed me."

"Oh, okay- wait what?!" Tenko started off normally before fully registering Kaede's words, afterwards going into a panic. Himiko gave a huff of annoyance, and glared at the pianist from underneath the brim of her hat. "That's something you should've said earlier..."

"Well, geeze, sorry, I thought Shuichi's death was a bit more important than me almost dying!!" Kaede shot back with a furrowed brow, defensively crossing her arms over her chest. Rantaro seemed to take intense interest in what she didn't see, and he pressed for more answers. "Kaede, who tried to kill you?"

"K-Kill me? Oh, no, they tried to kill Shuichi, but I walked into the trap instead of him!!" Kaede corrected, and Kiibo's ahoge formed a question mark directed at her statement. "What do you mean by that?"

"Can you explain how you almost came to be... killed?" Kirumi requested, and with a tense nod, Kaede obliged. "Well, Shuichi asked me to get him a book he showed me, and when i went to the library and picked it off the shelf, I saw a string attached to the spine. When I looked up, I was staring back up at a reflection of myself!!

"Later on, me and Kokichi found out that the string connected to the vent in the library, opening and closing it ; so, when I pulled on the string, or in this case, took the book off the shelf, it would open the vent and let the shot put ball roll out!!" As Kaede finished explaining, a hushed silence fell across the courthouse, and suddenly, it felt like she was left out of something everyone else was in on.

"Look, Kaede..." Rantaro seemed almost nervous to speak to Kaede, which sent off red flags right away, and he didn't meet the other's gaze until the end of his sentence. "I don't think that the trap was set up for Shuichi, necessarily."

"What do you mean?" Kaede asked dubiously, feeling waves of apprehension wash over her as she tried to comprehend what was being put in front of her. Taking Rantaro's place, Maki stared directly at the heroine and bluntly stated what was obvious at this point :

"Kaede, Shuichi tried to kill you."

<| |>


	17. The Deceitful Truth

Now, who do you want to die the least? Leave your answers in the comments below!!

<| |>

"What?" Kaede couldn't believe what she was hearing : were they really trying to say Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective, had tried and failed to kill her?

"Didn't you hear me?" Maki harshly asked, frowning deeply before going to repeat the jarring words once again. "He tried to kill you-!!"

"Fuckin hell, I knew that beta cuck was some sort of freaky, but a necrophiliac?!" Miu gagged dramatically, giving a disgusted grimace as she adjusted her steam punk goggles. Kaito seemed oddly silent as he gave Kaede an unsure gaze, perhaps even looking wary of her- but none of that mattered to her right now.

"Stop... stop messing around...!!" Kaede breathed out defiantly, and she refused to believe it, she wouldn't, no, she couldn't!! Shuichi would never, ever do that to her, would he? Her chest hurt and her eyes burned ; it was hard to see through the tears stinging her eyes. "He... he'd never...!!"

"Well, he did, so suck it up buttercup." Kokichi bluntly stated, smile gone and face blank as he stared daggers at Kaede, who sluggishly shook her head in denial. "No, n-no...!!"

"I'm sorry, Kaede, but there's a good chance he either set up the trap, or unknowingly sent you into it." Rantaro hesitantly added, trying to be pleasant about it at the very least, but Kokichi adopted a swaggering attitude and ripped off the band-aid. "Nope, Shuichi definitely knew, and he was planning to kill you from the very start of the killing game, probably!!"

"But, why?!" Kaede choked out, tears freely running down her face now as she clutched at her aching heart : she thought they had been friends, close friends, maybe even more, so why would he even consider doing that?! This made no sense!!

"Kaede..." Kirumi looked as if she wanted to go from her podium to Kaede's and comfort her, but for now, she provided a shoulder to cry on from a distance. "Right now, we don't need to understand why, we just need to push through this and survive, you may rest later. You can do this, you're strong enough, just- just try not to think about it."

"Gonta give hug?" Gonta meekly smiled at Kaede with outstretched arms, and suddenly, Kaede didn't feel so bad. She was devastated, yes, but she had to push through. She's sure... she's sure Shuichi did whatever he did for a good reason.

"I'm, aha, I-I'm fine!! Let's just do the trial, okay?" With a wavering laugh, Kaede waved Gonta away, doing her best to clear her eyes from tears as she felt everyone's eyes on her. Sniffling, she took a deep breath, and an odd feeling of calm washed over her ; she didn't feel so... guilty anymore.

"Kaede's resilience is so divine!! Now, He must remind you again, we should visit the testimonies~!!" Angie chimed as soon as Kaede was finished, a carefree smile painted on her features, which made the tension ease up ever so slightly. Himiko huffed and rolled her eyes, sending a dull glare out to anyone who would view her. "I was with Tenko the entire time, you can ask her- I couldn't even go to the bathroom because of her..."

"Wh-What?! Tenko thought Himiko was too scared to go out, even with Tenko!!" Tenko yelped before shrinking in posture, tearing up a bit with exaggerated distress, "Ahhh, Tenko is very, very sorry!! I-If Himiko is uncomfortable, Tenko will also stop coming with her to the bathroom at night!!"

"No, that's not what I-!!" Himiko's face flared up into a bright red and she tugged down on her hat to hide her embarrassment, "J-Just be quiet!!"

"Yes, Himiko!!" Tenko obediently surrendered, and after that, Rantaro was able to swoop in and reclaim the scene.

"Angie's right, we should check out testimonies. Which ones should we start with first?" Rantaro's question almost seemed directed right at Kaede, and she was startled a bit at the way he looked expectantly at her. It wasn't a pressuring, anxiety-inducing look though, it was moreso a gentle push to let her get started.

"Um, how about..." Kaede nervously stepped up to the plate, clammy hands grasping her skirt as she searched her mind for an adequate answer- wait, that's it!! "How about we start with Kaito's group? He had the most amount of people, after all."

"Good idea!! Weren't they going to make last stand against Monokuma?" Kiibo brought up with a raised hand, cyber blue gaze shooting Kaede a praising look. Kaito jolted to attention at the two's words, and with a sheepish chuckle, he divulged his information. "Yeah!! Around uhh, 8 a.m. I went around knocking on everyone's doors so we could fight back against Monokuma ; I took Maki, Gonta, Rantaro, Himiko, and Tenko with me!! We were all together until... until the body discovery announcement."

"Wait, you were all together?" Kaede questioned immediately as he ended his sentence, a doubtful frown on her features. At this, Kaito furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a challenging look as he pounded his fists together. "What, are you doubting me?! Just ask the people I brought with me!!"

"Tenko hates to say it, but the filthy boy is right!!" Tenko shouted out in verification, and she turned her head to give a fierce glare in Rantaro's direction. "That degenerate over there tried to leave, but Tenko stopped him!!"

"Aha, you've got me." Rantaro held up his hands in surrender, giving a sheepish chuckle as he smiled amiably. Gonta blinked in confusion though, and raised a hand for examination. "But Gonta remember Maki leaving when she see Kaede!!"

"Wh-What the hell are you saying?!" Kaito visibly blanched and threw a defensive look towards Gonta, obviously not appreciating the way the hole in his testimony was made visible. Kaede had the same mindset as the entomologist though, and with an apologetic shake of her head, she continued onward with that point. "Maki was the one who came and save me from the shot put ball, so she wasn't with you the whole time!!"

"Well why the hell would that matter anyways?!" Kaito shot back, fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Maki sighed in exasperation, giving a half-hearted glare in his direction as she scowled darkly. "Because it makes me even look more suspicious when you lie about it like that."

"S-Suspicious?" Kaede stuttered out in surprise, not actually intending to put the other girl on the spot like this ; had she really thrown Maki under the bus because of her words? Kokichi gave a devilish grin, almost seeming to snicker at the blonde's thoughts as he parroted her statement. "Yep, Maki's definitely suspicious, she even looks like a murderer!!"

"Shut up." Maki hissed with a glower, animosity glittering in her vermilion gaze, but of course Kokichi was not taken aback in the least. "Whyyy? I'm not the suspect here, you are!!"

"I-Isn't it a bit far to go and say she's a suspect?" Tsumugi protested weakly, fidgeting with clammy hands as she shot Maki a concerned look, the latter not reciprocating it in the slightest. Kaede pursed her lips and averted her gaze to the side, not exactly knowing how to feel about this. She knew there was something wrong with that...!!

"Well, Maki left right after she saw me, right? What was the time she left?" Kaede asked with a nervous grin, and with a small hum, Gonta furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Gonta think it was 9:20...?"

"So, it's highly unlikely Maki rushed all the way to the dorms and then back to Kaede to save her, even if this was a crime of passion." Korekiyo repeated to himself, tapping a slender, bandage-wrapped finger against his chin. Kaito seemed to ease up a bit and he was smiling once again as he ran a hand through his spiked purple hair. "Nice, I knew Maki was all good!!"

"Wait, hold on- what do you mean crime of passion?" Kiibo backtracked to Korekiyo's previous statement, and now that she thought about it, Kaede felt a jolt of curiosity, too. Rantaro seemed to pick up what the anthropologist was putting down, and nodded to himself before speaking for the other male. "Well, we haven't discussed the motive behind this crime yet, have we?"

"Wasn't it the actual motive? Like the First Blood Perk and the time limit!!" Angie added in, tanned skin pressing against her puffed out cheeks. Kirumi seemed to contemplate it for a moment but then shook her head, gesturing a hand as she began to speak. "Well, we've already decided that the First Blood Perk was most likely not the prize in the culprit's eye, and although the time limit was also most likely part of it, is it truly a coincidence that someone killed Shuichi, the same person trying to commit a murder himself?"

"Nyeh, I don't see the point in talking about it, we should get back to the testimonies before my mana drains completely..." Himiko interrupted, huffing under her breath as she wiped sleep from one of her doey brown eyes. Tenko, eager as ever to appease the former, jumped into the conversation with a loud shout. "Himiko's right, what were all the degenerate males doing aside from the ones Tenko was able to watch?!"

"Well, I was in the dining hall with Kirumi, Ryoma, Tsumugi, Kokichi, and Kaede before Kaede and I left to check on Miu and Shuichi." Kiibo explained, and as soon as he finished, Ryoma came in to fill in the rest. "No one left except Kaede, Kiibo, Kokichi, and Kirumi after that. None of them came back before the body discovery announcement."

"Kirumi was with us for about ten minutes," Rantaro began, and Miu swooped in for a bombastic finish, "and then the milk mommy was with us the rest of the damn five minutes!!"

"Please do not call me that." Kirumi politely but firmly shot down Miu's odd... nickname, but her words went unnoticed as the conversation continued. With a bubbly laugh, Angie jumped up and down, clapping her hands above her back to gain their attention. "So that means Angie and Kokichi are the only ones without real alibies!!"

"How can she say that in such a carefree manner?" Kiibo questioned to himself, a little put off by the looks of it, especially when Angie openly admitted to the suspicion being put on her. Kokichi burst out in a fit of laughter at this, a cheeky smile on his face as he held a mischievous finger to his lips. "Ohoho, the two jailbait kids at it again, huh? We should band together and make our own tv show!!"

"No thank you!!" It was almost comedical how quickly Angie shot down Kokichi, although both were still giving close-eyed smiles even a few moments after her words had settled. Korekiyo arched a curious eyebrow at the two before giving a small chuckle under his breath, finding amusement in their interaction. "They mirror each other quite nicely, don't they?"

"Well, Angie said she was performing a ritual for us to peacefully pass into the afterlife." Kaede started, not exactly wanting the conversation to derail once again, and Angie vigorously bobbed her head up and down in a response. "Yes, He was working together with her to ensure everyone had a first class trip after they died!!"

"And we have no clue where Kokichi was." Ryoma added in, punctuating his sentence with a suspicious glare in the 'nishishing' Kokichi's direction. Which one should they believe? Could they ask anyone? Could they ask...

"Hey, Miu!!" Kaede's clear voice rang out in the courthouse as she snapped Miu to attention, and the strawberry blonde gave a frail look of defiance. "What the hell do you want now, broad?!"

"Well for your testimony you said you saw someone in the warehouse... could you say who exactly?" Kaede requested, and just like that, the color drained out of Miu's face, and she shriveled backwards. "H-Huh, what're you talking about?!"

"What do you mean? Kiibo and Kirumi said that's why you ran all the way back!!" Kaede pushed once again, trying her best to softly prod the answers out of the inventor ; Miu simply squeaked and clutched at her goggles, doing her best to look anywhere but at the girl asking the question. "I-I don't know what you're fuckin' talkin' about!! L-Leave me alone!!"

"Miu, please, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but this might be important for the outcome of this trial!!" Kiibo insisted, throwing Miu a concerned but gentle look, and at this she seemed to calm down ever so slightly. Biting her nails, she sucked in a few shuddered breaths and announced something with a quivering intensity : "I touched the same shitty hand of that damned blackened, I'm fuckin' positive!!"

"How do you know it was the culprit...?" Himiko questioned doubtfully, but with double the force, Miu shot her a defensive look. "I just know, god damn it!! They were on the same isle where that damn rat poison was put back, plus they were putting back a lockpick kit!!"

"L-Lockpick?" Kaede stuttered, paling a bit at that specific piece of information for some odd reason- why was the lockpick so important? Kirumi gave a small, bitter chuckle of amusement as she swept her silver hair out of her face, a grim smile on her black-painted lips. "Ah, so this is where the question of how the killer broke into Shuichi's room comes back, I suppose."

It was on a small, very thin line, hardly a trace of a clue at all, but it gave them just a slightest nudge in the right direction. Who used that, right in front of Kaede's very eyes?! Who was it, who... it was...

"Kokichi, can I ask you something?" Please, for all of their sakes, don't let Kaede's train of thought be right.

<| |>


	18. Sacrifice

How do you feel about this trial's blackened? Did you expect them? Ooh and how did you like the execution?

<| |>

"Kokichi, can I ask you something?" Kaede's voice was fragile, and she could guarantee that if you dropped a pin, it would shatter her confidence. She couldn't even believe she was thinking this, but they had to make some progress somehow...!!

"Sure, what is it, Goldilocks?" Kokichi gave Kaede an innocent smile which effectively sent a pang of pain through her heart, and she grimaced before pushing forward with her quest for answers.

"Didn't you use lockpicks to break into my room a few nights ago?" The words felt heavy in Kaede's throat as she tried to pass it off as a simple question out of curiosity, which she apparently didn't do well. Kokichi's mouth formed a small circle and he chuckled a bit, grinning sarcastically as he nodded his head. "Oh, so you're suspecting me because of that, huh? Nice one, didn't think you'd have it in you."

"That's not what I'm-!!" Kaede immediately shot up to protest against the sentiment of his words, she didn't want to suspect him, no, she wasn't suspecting him!! I mean, this was hardly a clue, but... but there's no harm in talking about it, right?

"Where the hell are you even pulling that from!!" Kaito's sudden barking words interrupted Kaede though, and as she turned to him with a dumbfounded expression... was that hostility in his tone? His eyebrows were furrowed and his teeth grinded against each other as he looked conflicted, but continued to speak his mind anyway. "We've been following you around this whole time, listening to whatever you say, and letting you decided what's what, but... what if you're the one that killed Shuichi in the first place?!"

"Wh-What are you saying?!" Kaede squeaked in surprise at the accusation, and she felt a shot of pain go through her as she wondered why Kaito reacted like this : she had tried to be fair, to be a good leader, and it's true that she let Shuichi die on her watch... but did that really mean she killed Shuichi herself?

"Take those filthy words back, you degenerate!!" Tenko snapped angrily, holding a threatening glower as she looked just about ready to leave her podium and beat the already fragile masculinity out of Kaito. Himiko sent a glare her way to stop her however, and from beside Kaede, the red-head shot her a suspicious look as well. "Nyeh, wait...!! He's got a point... she's cast some sort of spell on us, like a succubus, and she drained the life right out of Shuichi!!"

"Where exactly is this coming from, Kaito- if I may ask, of course." Kirumi cautiously eyed Kaito, and there was maybe a hint of abnormal hostility bleeding into her tone. The astronaut held fast though, and with a pound of a fist against his chest, he gave out his argument. "Well, she's the first one that saw Shuichi dead, right?! Plus, she's the last one that saw him alive, isn't that a little suspicious?"

"Well, you do have a point..." Korekiyo thoughtfully muttered to himself, apparently feeling out the thought in his head through lightly lidded eyes. Ryoma nodded in agreement, sending Kaede an apologetic look, but pushing forward nonetheless. "Usually, the first person who saw the crime scene and the last person who saw the victim are the first suspect. Why is this any different?"

"We've been looking at her through rose-tinted lenses the whole time!!" Angie added in cheerfully, giving a little hop as she gave a sunny smile that seemed oddly laced with venom. Kaede fumbled for words, mind stopping and starting so many paths of thought as the suspicion suddenly became put on her. Is this what all the other ultimates felt like when she'd accused them? It was an awful feeling...

"N-Now hold on, there's got to be some way to prove I'm innocent!!" Kaede protested weakly, desperate to shove the spotlight out of her, but with a jolt, her podium shifted forward to put her in the middle of this all. Now, she really was the center of attention, but she didn't want that like this- no, she never wanted anything like that!!

"The more I think about it, the more suspicious she becomes...!!" Kiibo exclaimed in distress, and it was true ; Kaede had no defense, there was no way to discount their doubt, what there?! She couldn't do this, she knew she didn't do it, and the culprit knows she didn't do it, but there's no real way to prove her innocence!!

"Maki, weren't you following Kaede?" Rantaro calmly questioned, trying to keep the situation under control as best he could while also giving Kaede a supportive look. Wait, that's right, would that be her answer? Maki shot down that hope though with one simple head nod, tensely averting her eyes to the side with pursed lips. "No, I hung back a bit to inspect the death trap. By the time I caught up with her, she was already at the crime scene."

"Kiibo and Kaede went to the dorms together, right?" Tsumugi interrupted, but once again reasoning fought against the potentially saving factor. Kiibo reluctantly shook his head, shrinking further at the pleading look Kaede was giving him. "Miu dragged me inside as soon as I knocked on her door, and by the time we left, Kaede was nowhere to be seen."

"Wh-What about Angie?! She wasn't with anyone either!!" Kaede argued frantically, and she immediately felt bad for attempting to throw Angie under the bus, but she just had to get everyone to trust her again!! Miu literally spat at the thought though, causing Himiko to give a disgusted groan, and flipped the other blonde off. "No way, that was a damn cracker's hand I touched, for sure!!"

"So... blackened is Kaede?" Gonta unsurely mumbled, looking extremely fearful, which was comical for a man of his size. Kaito sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he nodded, looking gravely serious as he looked Kaede directly in the eye. "Sorry, but it's obvious at this point, right? Best get voting over with."

"W-Wait, it's not me, I promise!!" Kaede begged, breathing unevenly as her skin burned with a mixture of fear and betrayal. Were they really going to do this to her, after everything she'd done? No... they'd all die, she can't let that happen!! They can't die... she can't die!! Dropping to her knees and clutching at the podium, she choked out a plea through sobs. "Please... please, don't do this!!"

"Nishishi!! You're really all idiots, so to save poor Goldilocks' life, I'm gonna have to out myself!!"

What?

"It's me, I'm the culprit, Kokichi Ouma!!"

No!! Kaede gasped in horror as her head shot up, and along with everyone else, they stared at the proudly beaming Kokichi. What was he doing...? It wasn't her, but it couldn't be him, right?!

"Out? Like coming out of the- wait what the fuck?!" Miu's teasing response was put to a screeching halt as she quickly backtracked, staring with wide, fear filled eyes at Kokichi. "The twink really had it in him?? Sh-Shit... I touched hands with that fucker, shit!!"

"Where the hell did that come from, what are you doing?!" Kaito hoarsely exclaimed, giving Kokichi an incredulous look mixed with embarrassment. Kirumi narrowed her eyes and arched a suspicious eyebrow, her voice low as she tried to pick him apart with merely her gaze. "Why suddenly say this now?"

"An act made out of love, perhaps?" Korekiyo cooed, interest glinting in his citrine gaze as he looked intently at the two suspects. At this, Kokichi grimaced and vigorously shook his head, sticking his tongue out playfully at Kaede. "She wishes!! Too bad I'm not into that stuff like, at all."

"Kokichi, what are you...?" Kaede breathed out in shock, dumb founded and feeling disgusted at the relief that flooded through her body. She shouldn't be thankful for this, she couldn't!! What is he talking about? What's happening?!

"Kaede, look at me." Kokichi's voice lost all color, it was grim and demanding, quickly snapping a red-eyed Kaede to attention. She saw acceptance in his gaze, maybe a bit of regret, but he was content with this. "What do we both have in common? I want you to think of the answer but not say it out loud."

What did they...? Kaede knitted her eyebrows together, searching through her fog-filled mind for a proper answer. They were Ultimates, they were teenagers, they were in a killing game, they were...

"Oh god." They were searching for the mastermind and had found their hideout. They were being framed, the mastermind was trying to get rid of one of them...!!

"Huh?! What did ya do, fuck or some shit?!" Miu's voice rang out through the court room, but really went unheard as an eerie despair enveloped all of them. Rantaro broke the silence first, clearing his throat awkwardly as his eyes darted from Kaede to Kokichi. "So... what now?"

"We vote." Korekiyo replied simply, and at that a chorus of ruckus broke out into the room.

"R-Really, already?!" Tenko blurted out, and even if she despised men, she looked awfully guilty about sending Kokichi to his death. Kaede felt even more jarred by the mere thought of this and she desperately interjected, fingernails piercing into her skin to the point of drawing blood. "No, not yet, h-how can we just decide this so easily?!"

"It's basically a popularity vote, Goldilocks. Ya choose based on who you'd rather keep around." Kokichi responded with a mask of a smile, still cheerfully swaying from side to side, even as he condemned himself to his own death. "It's possible that it's either of us, so just take a leap of faith!!"

Leap of... faith? That was what was controlling their lives now? A flimsy thing like faith or hope?

"Why are you so obsessed with defending him? You're the only other choice, you know." Himiko mumbled in a passive aggressive fashion, and that question was quickly answered for her by Kokichi himself. "Because she doesn't want the guilt of my death on her hands."

"Wh...?" Kaede stared with wide, agonized eyes as Kokichi continued, speaking such gruesome things through the same lips that were twisted into a childish smile. "Don't worry, though!! I lied about having people who care about me, no one will miss me. I'm better off dead!! You're definitely the one who should live, at this point I'm out of the question."

"Kokichi, I care about you!!" Kaede's voice was distraught and almost animalistic, truthfully coming from the bottom of her heart as she found trouble looking at Kokichi through the tears that flooded her vision. "I... I care about you...!! I don't want you to die, I want us to live together!!"

"..." Kokichi was stunned into silence after that, but soon his deceitful smile fell off his face and was replaced with a new, comforting one. "That was never an option, Goldilocks."

Voting came soon and swift after that. Kaede couldn't comprehend Monokuma's words, and with a bleary mind, she voted for herself. The results came in ; two for Kaede, and thirteen for Kokichi.

What now? They were all quiet as they stared at one another, but Kaede's gaze was transfixed on Kokichi. She felt, so empty, and then, with one big rush of emotion, her legs moved on their own. They carried her from her podium to his, and the next thing she knows, she's crying into his white shirt as she wrapped him in a tight embrace, knowing that if she let him go, he'd be gone out of her life forever.

"Please don't leave, you can't you can't!! Don't die don't die don't die, take me instead...!!" Kaede's shouts were muffled as she cried into Kokichi's chest, and through her swirling despair, she thought she could feel him hugging her back. "Geeze, you're such a crybaby. Just toughen up and end this thing for me, mmkay?"

"I-I-I will, I will I swear...!!" Kaede managed to whimper, the strength leaking out of her body at a rapid pace, and in a quieter tone, Kokichi pulled back to give her his own tearful smile. "Thank you, Kaede."

And just like that, he was ripped away from her.

"Kokichi!!" Kaede's cries went unheard as Kokichi, still smiling, had a Monokuma-themed chain enclose around his neck, pulling up into the air and out of her arms. She reached out, narrowly grazing one of his fingers, but as she fell hard back onto her knees, she knew she had lost him. The execution had begun.

~!~ The Game of Life ~!~

Ultimate Supreme Leader

Kokichi Ouma's Execution : Executed

Higher, up higher and higher Kokichi was taken, disappearing until he inevitably came back down. He landed on what appeared to be a playing board, a childishly excited Monokuma sitting in front of it. It appeared normal, the tiles were all simply white but... this was an execution after all.

Monokuma rolled the dice, landing a six that yanked Kokichi up by the collar once again and moving him six spaces forward, the boy holding an unreadable smile the entire time ; he genuinely seemed to be enjoying this, but of course, Ouma was a master of lies.

As soon as Kokichi's feet touched the square it flipped over to unleash a water tank full of piranhas that immediately leapt forward to gnaw away at his pale flesh. He didn't even miss a beat as he nimbly took long, quick strides until he was safe, yet not unscathed. His pant legs were torn to shred, and bite marks bled painfully bright like they were on a plain canvas, plus on his left calf there was quite the huge chunk taken out of it.

Wincing but still keeping that trademark smirk, Kokichi watched as Monokuma rolled the dice yet again : this time, it landed on two. Two simple tugs forward, only to be thrown into another hell entirely. Rusted circular saws whirred to life, yet another thing ready to tear him from limb to limb. Slightly less agile due to his earlier injuries, he darted around the metal weapons, and at first he appeared to be alright- that was until the blood began to seep through his white attire and make the deep gashes in his flesh apparent. Three wounds, one on his lower right-side torso, one on his upper back, and one that left a long gouge in his right arm.

Once again, Monokuma threw the dice, this time rolling a four. Then a seven, then a five, then an eight, and so on. Kokichi evaded spikes coming out from the ground to impale him, nearly being boiled alive, practically being strangled, killer wasps, and narrowly avoiding being crushed to death. He was almost there, so close to the end, so close...!!

Monokuma proceeded to roll, the dice hitting the board with a despairing thud, slowly rolling to reveal a one, and another one. Snake eyes.

Hissing slowly started to rise to their eardrums as in one foul movement, the floor caved in to drop Kokichi into a pit of serpentine creatures, all immediately going to entangle themselves in an effort to restrain their prey. They didn't have to worry that much though, because he didn't struggle as their fangs dug into him, injecting him with poison that could kill a full grown man slowly and painfully. His smiling face eventually became submerged in scales as his bleeding body sank to the bottom of the pit.

~!~ Execution Complete!! ~!~

What had they just seen? This couldn't be reality, could it? No, this wasn't fiction, this was the truth. They had just witnessed one of their classmates be executed in a senselessly violent manner. The despair that coated their insides was sickening, and as screams slowly echoed amongst the Ultimates, Kaede stood still with dead eyes, staring at the writhing pit of snakes.

Kokichi had been her friend. He'd trusted Kaede, let her see something that nearly got her killed, and had sacrificed himself for her. It was all her fault. She shouldn't have relied on him so much, she should've worked just as hard to figure out the mastermind, but she didn't, and now he was gone, gone forever. All because of her because of her because of her because of her because of her because of-

A sharp blow to Kaede's cheek made her stagger, falling out of her despairing trance as with red eyes, she stared in shock at a murderous looking Maki. A shaky hand found its way to her cheek, and as she rubbed her stinging skin, she breathed out a simple question. "Why...?"

"Because you're even more of an idiot that I took you for if you're going to sit there and waste a life like that, even if it came from a pitiful owner. People die everyday, the world isn't going to acknowledge your pity party and slow down its pace for you." Maki spat venomously, and just like that, the harsh words were just what Kaede needed to hear to relight the hope that had been in so much danger of being put out.

Kaede had to avenge Kokichi's wrongful death, she had to reveal the mastermind, she had to make his death count, because if she didn't...!!

If she didn't, then what was the point of him taking the bullet for her?

<| |>


	19. Claire De Lune

<| |>

Kaede's hands breezed softly over the keys, lightly pressing down on the piano as if she was playing her own battered heart strings. The soft melody filled her talent lab, moonlight flowing down and painting the room with a silvery atmosphere.

Kaede wanted to play the piano for her friends just once, to make them smile genuinely, but now it wouldn't feel the same with two essential players gone. Debussy as an artist had always held a place in her heart, something about the music just eased her mind, even in times like these she felt it nurturing the hope inside of her. Claire De Lune was one of her favorites- she's sure Shuichi would've liked it too, although she's not so sure about Kokichi : well, even though he appears to like loud and thunderous songs, he probably would need this piece in moments like this. If he were still here, that is.

It was so peaceful, so deafeningly peaceful. Kaede had to fill the silence, to avoid the horrible reminder of death that laid in the back of her mind.

Shuichi Saihara, a cold and calculative boy, he was determined to find out what was going on behind all of this. He had been kind in his own ways, and Kaede was sure that he was only so closed up because of his past. In reality, he was just thinking about everyone else... wasn't he? She wished she could understand why he did what he did, but she wouldn't think about it ; there was no doubt in her heart, because she knew that she forgave him, no matter what.

Kokichi Ouma, a teenager whose world was enveloped in lies, he tried so hard to be the bad guy in all of this. He was manipulative and irritating, sure, and he definitely crossed a lot of lines he shouldn't have, but deep down, he only wanted to save everyone. He wanted them all to get out without dying, and he worked harder than them all to track down the mastermind, which sadly only proved to be his undoing. He had trusted Kaede, worked with her, tried to save her, and in the end sacrificed himself for her. She regretted everything she had done to lead up to his death, but there was no use thinking about that, because she had to move forward for him, and for everyone else who still had the chance to be saved.

They were both gone now, and it hurt more than you could imagine to think about it. Shuichi and Kokichi were dead, and they'd left Kaede to deal with this mess of a reality. One by one, big wells of tears fell down her face, and she didn't even try to cry quietly as she sobbed, gasping for breath as she played the piano all the while.

Kaede was so enveloped in her music, in her devastation, and in her sobbing, that she didn't hear the door open. She didn't even know someone was in the room until she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her gasp sharply. With wide and teary eyes, she turned quickly to see a solemn Kaito, admiration blazing in his purple eyes. "Hey, Kaede. You're pretty damn good, huh?"

"H-Huh?" Kaede blinked in surprise, or at least tried to since her tears made her eyelashes stick together, and she went to wipe her face, feeling embarrassed and shameful to be looked at in a moment of weakness like this. Kaito only chuckled though, and he took a step back to take a look at her talent lab. "This place is really something- ya know, I felt bad interrupting you, it was some kind of magic, the way you took over the room."

"Oh, um, thanks...!!" Kaede did her best to sound happy, she really did, but her voice still trembled and cracked as she tried to breath from her tightened throat. She looked behind Kaito and saw a nervous Tsumugi looking at her with an adoring gaze, and she jumped when she felt the blonde's eyes on her. "A-Ah, Kaede, you play so well!! It really, really moved me!! You should totally make music for anime...!!"

"I've done that a few times actually..." Kaede gave a sheepish chuckle as she forced a smile in Tsumugi's direction, but that expression dropped at the figure lurking behind the other girl. Kaito seemed to notice her apprehension, and swooped in to explain.

"Maki has something to say to you!! Well, we both have something to say, really." Kaito paused and with a sigh, he rubbed the back of his head and apologetically smiled at Kaede. "I'm sorry i suspected you, I guess... I guess my grandparents rubbed off on me too much, because I think I was jealous of you out-playing me!!"

"It's really not a big deal, but thank you." Kaede's smile became a little bit easier to make at those words, and she easily forgave Kaito, understanding the severity of the situation. She then reluctantly looked towards Maki, who was still hiding in the shadows with something tightly balled in her fists. Tsumugi tentatively reached forward to tug on her sleeve, making the brunette snap at her with a defensive glare that soon fell on the pianist. With a sigh, she stepped forward and held out a checkered bandana for the other girl to take. "Here, just take it."

"What...?" Kaede was confused for a moment but then realization hit her in the chest : it was... it was Kokichi's bandana. Instantly the eyes that had been slowly dried broke into tears once again, and she shakily took it from Maki, staring down at in shock. It was such a small thing, a small representation of someone she'd barely gotten to know but had given up everything for her, and she would cherish it. "Thank you, th-thank you so much, Maki!!"

"I-It's no problem." Maki dismissively averted her gaze and retreated towards the door once again, Tsumugi quickly taking her place. The lapis-haired girl took Kaede's hands in hers and looked her directly in the eyes, giving her a caring look. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here, we'd be happy to have you around!!"

"Yeah, you're not alone Kaede, have a good night!!" Kaito flashed one last grin as she followed Maki, who'd quickly fled the scene through the front door, and Tsumugi gave Kaede's hand one last squeeze before hurrying after the other two.

Kaede watched as the door creaked to a close, leaving her alone once again and staring at the checkered cloth in her hands. As tears dropped onto the fabric, she decided that for tonight, she would say in her talent lab, and that's what she did. She took turns playing the piano cds from the racks that covered the entire left wall, popping them into the recorder and allowing the music to soothe her to sleep, although the floor wasn't the most comfortable bed. Still, she managed to sleep, and for the remainder of the night, she sat there, cradling the checkered bandana.

Until...

"Hey!!"

?

"Helloooo!!"

What was...?

"Goldilocks!!"

What?! That nickname, it couldn't be...!! Kaede's attention was caught at that, and she jolted awake, expecting to find a familiar liar's face, but instead finding another deceptively small teen.

"Ahh, there you are, good morning!!" Angie was beaming brightly, the sun blending in with her smile quite well as she stood over Kaede. A disappointed throb stung her chest, but the latter smiled anyway and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Oh, Angie, what are you doing here?"

"He told Angie to come and get you, so that's what she did!!" Angie replied merrily, humming along to the last remnants of the piano recording that was playing as she collected and stacked some of the many music sheets scattered across the ground. "Kaede wasn't in her dorm room, so of course she would be here!!"

"Oh um, did you need something?" Kaede politely asked as she got to her feet, and subconsciously, she wrapped the bandana around one of her backpack straps for safe keeping. Angie seemed to find her question amusing as she giggled, leaning to the side and peering up at the other girl. "Food, both of us need it!! Angie told Kirumi to make something extra special for Kaede this morning!!"

"W-Wait what, you didn't have to do that!!" Kaede protested, and of course she was thankful, she just didn't feel right to keep on taking from the group. Kaito was right, she was a terrible leader that let two of them die, so why was she still being treated like this...?!

"Don't be silly, He deemed it necessary, so just accept it!!" Angie reassured positively, smile still as radiant as she reached up to tap Kaede on the nose. "Now come on, let us hurry, everyone's waiting for you!!"

Kaede was going to stumble over a question once again, but Angie had already intertwined their fingers and was pulling her along, oddly strong for such a tiny thing. This situation and set of thoughts were... reminding her of something, but she'd push the memory away ; she had to be smiling, she had to be strong, because even if she didn't deserve it, she was given the role of leader and she would work hard to make sure no one ever died again!!

They made their way to the dining hall and soon enough, they were inside with everyone else. Kaede gave a fragile smile and a wave as she walked in, her other hand still tightly held by Angie who pulled her along further. Though... everyone was staring at the protagonist, and it made her weary- she wouldn't be rude, but she still didn't want their pity. Everyone went through something terrible yesterday, not just her.

"Good morning, Kaede!!" Tsumugi waved cheerfully from her own seat, and from across the table, Himiko gave Kaede an idle stare before looking at Kirumi. "Alright she's here... can we eat now? I need to restore my mana."

"You were waiting for me?" Kaede blinked in surprise, and immediately felt guilt as she gave Himiko an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, if I'd known I would've hurried!!"

"Don't worry about it, we're just plain happy to see you!!" Tsumugi countered, seemingly lathering the appreciation on a bit too much, but Kaede wouldn't dwell on it. Gonta gave her his own bubbly smile and waved eagerly at her, kindness not having waned in the slightest. "Oh, oh, Kaede!! Kirumi made pretty cake for you!!"

"Don't spoil it, degenerate!!" Tenko barked in frustration, but Rantaro waved a reassuring hand in her direction, which she of course did not take lightly. "Don't worry Tenko, Angie probably already told her."

"Yes, yes she did!!" Angie piped in with a clap of her hands, and Kaede flushed as Kirumi walked up to her. She was still here at least...

"I hope you rested well, Kaede, we've made something for you in thanks." Kirumi informed Kaede as she put an arm around her shoulder, guiding her to the table carefully. The pianist furrowed her eyebrows in slight confusion at that, and was about to ask 'thanks for what?' when she caught sight of what had been prepared for her. "It's... It's amazing, thank you so much!!"

It was a white cake, its sides decorated with piano keys and a music note made out of glass sugar was placed on the top, and Kaede could barely believe it was all for her. Why were they so kind? Why would they do this for her? It was all too much, she didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve it...!!

"Are you... seriously fuckin' crying right now?!" Miu's comment snapped Kaede out of it, and shame quickly burned hot under her skin as she wiped at her eyes quickly. "I-I'm sorry, thank you, it's not that I don't like it-!!"

"It's fine Kaede, you're fine." Kirumi quietly told her with a calm smile, and she lightly dabbed away at Kaede's tears with a spider-webbed handkerchief. Blushing and mumbling a small thank you, the lavender-eyed girl eventually sat down at the table with the rest of her peers. The maid cut her a slice of cake, and they not-so-silently ate, Akamatsu staying out of the conversation to eat as the others conversed.

"So I was there, ready to grab the amulet and dash away, when...!!" Kaito was telling a story to Maki and Tsumugi, one not interested in the slightest while the other politely listened to his ramblings, I think you can guess which is which. Rantaro and Korekiyo seemed to be having a nice chat, Ryoma was brooding away in the corner, and once again Gonta was helping Kirumi carry plates in. Everything was nice and peaceful, but of course, that wouldn't last long.

"Helloooo!! Looks like you guys are having a good time, let me join in!!" Monokuma appeared just as suddenly and out of nowhere as ever, but at least this time Kirumi and Rantaro worked together to save anything from being knocked over.

"Should've known you'd show up... can you stop doing it on the table while we're having breakfast? That'd be great, thanks." Rantaro chastised nonchalantly, a sarcastic bite in his melodic voice, souring his words somewhat. Maki gave Monokuma her own sharp glare, hardly blinking as she propped her chin against her hand. "Are how about just not show up at all, that'd be fine, too."

"Aww, all you guys are ganging up on me!!" Monokuma whined, mockingly faking a cowering motion as he clutched his head. He quickly turned aggressive however, and he angrily outstretched his claws to give a few threatening slashes in their direction. "No bullying, that isn't allowed at all!! Bullying is not cool, it's the worst!!"

"Why are you even here?" Ryoma questioned, giving a half-lidded glare in Monokuma's direction as he bit off a piece of his candy cigarette. Monokuma calmed down at that, and he amiably hid his smile behind his paws. "Oh, well, since you guys survived the class trial and all, I thought I'd give you a prize!!"

"A prize...? Is this some sort of trick?!" Kaede questioned with a glare, resentment building up in her chest as she thought back what she'd done to her friends. Monokuma represented the mastermind, an awful person who'd forced them to kill each other...!!

"Ahh shuddup, blah blah blah Monokuma is evil we're gonna defeat you, stuff like that is kind of repetitive ya know?" Monokuma shot down Kaede's statement, and before she could give an agitated response, he threw four items right into the cake, effectively ruining it for everyone. "Anyways, there ya go!! A dragon gem, an ocarina, an ancient passport, and a hexagonal crank from some zombie game!! Use it however ya like losers, unlock new areas and have fun this killing game semester!! Buh-bye!!"

"Ugh, get back here-!! Ah, Kirumi I'm sorry..." Kaede got up from her seat to yell one last angry shout at Monokuma, but now turned back to give Kirumi an apologetic look, wistfully glancing at the misshapen cake in the center of the table. The silver-haired female simply gave her a small smile and shook her head, already going to clean it up as Korekiyo and a few others picked up the items that had been left for them. "This is ancient? Hm, it doesn't seem artificial, I suppose. I'll take this for further inspection, if you don't mind."

"Ooh, Angie will take the ocarina!!" Angie skipped forward to pick up the musical game instrument, and Rantaro picked up the second to last piece. "I'll find where this crank goes then, if that's alright with you guys."

"Yeah, I think I know where this orb goes, so..." Kaede picked up the red sphere and stared at her own reflection in it, sighing as she briefly closed her eyes : they'd have to keep pushing forward, even if it was difficult. If they had Shuichi or Kokichi this would be so easy but... they weren't here now, and she was determined to never let what happened to them ever happen again!!

<| |>


	20. The Good and Bad in Everyone

<| |>

The dragon statue stared back at Kaede with one of its eyes missing, and Kaede knew this had to be the spot!! Himiko inspected the statue as well, blinking with tired interest at it. "Nyeh, there's definitely some sort of magical presence here..."

"Wow, you can really figure that out?! You're so awesome, Himiko!!" Tenko gushed with sparkling eyes, cupping her own cheeks as she hovered over the small-statured girl. A similarly short teen, Ryoma gestured towards the orb in Kaede's hand and then back to the statue. "Well then, are you gonna try it?"

"Y-Yeah, of course!!" Kaede replied and sucking her breath in, she looked down at the item as she weighed the possible consequences. They'd all split up in group, following each of the four that had their respective key items, and the trio of Tenko, Himiko, and Ryoma had decided to come with our protagonist.

Kaede was currently worrying of everything that could go wrong, like if there was a death trap set up in this, or if you put the wrong thing you'd get punished. But... she was their leader, so she had to take that leap of faith.

Stepping forward, she reached up and carefully put the dragon sphere into the circular alcove, the item being a perfect fit. The three watched expectantly as a few seconds of silence passed, and Himiko nearly whined out a complaint before the wall and statue rumbled, breaking into a pieces in an instant.

"Himiko, watch out!!" Tenko immediately swooped forward to pick up Himiko in her arms, safely taking the protesting girl away from any possible danger. Ryoma was out of the way in one quick effortless movement, leaving Kaede to scramble backwards in surprise, but being the closest to the rubble, she noticed something the others hadn't.

"Wait, is that a corridor?" Kaede questioned in shock, recovering as she took a few steps forward and side-stepped the broken rock, fixated on the newly opened area ; so this was what those items were for!!

"Woah, you did that?! Kaede you're so cool!!" Tenko applauded Kaede with an energetic leap, Himiko giving a half-lidded look at the new opening. "With the help of my magic of course."

"Oh, definitely!!" Tenko immediately turned her attention back to Himiko, and as she began to ramble on for her, Ryoma kicked a few pieces of debris out of the way. "So, do we just head in?"

"Mhm, let's do this!!" Kaede pumped her fists in the air in an encouraging motion, doing her best to clear any doubt as she began to enter this new territory. It was scary, yeah, but the ignorance they waited in was even scarier.

The first thing Kaede came across was an elegantly lilac decorated door, the design reminiscent of gothic architecture and the Victorian age ; immediately, she connected the dots that this was a talent development lab, one that reminded her very much of Kirumi.

Upon twisting the nob and entering the room, it was made obvious that this was the ultimate maid's lab, everything about the area being regal and elegant. There were antiques lining one wall, while the other had a foldable door that opened to cleaning supplies from every clean freak's fantasies. In the middle of the room there was a dining table with a medieval atmosphere, dark oaken chairs set up, all but one having some sort of mannequin seated in it.

"Oh, this must be Kirumi's talent lab!!" Kaede exclaimed eagerly, taking in the pretty view just as shamelessly as when she looked at Kirumi herself. Ryoma appreciatively took note of the design and nodded to himself, agreeing with her statement. "Yeah, definitely her style."

"Wahh, such a cool talent lab for such a cool girl!!" Tenko added with an adoring expression, and from beside her Himiko blinked curiously at the mannequins. "Nyeh, these are a little weird... is she supposed to practice on these?"

They only briefly meandered in the room before opening a door on the side, which led to another hallway- a second story hall way that overlooks the hall that leads to the main door. Up here, it was mossy, but there was hardly any foliage compared to the other areas so far. Speaking of floors, upon going straight through one of the archways and turning left, there was yet another set of pink stairs with yellow spots, which contrasted the rest of the building greatly.

"Do we all want to go up these stairs or...?" Kaede looked back at her other three companions, and surprisingly enough, Himiko stepped forward first. "I'll go with you..."

"Oh, then Tenko will come too-!!" Tenko started, already speed walking forwards until Himiko pointed a halting finger in her direction. "No, you stay with Ryoma."

"Wh-What?! But... but he's a degenerate, Himiko, why can't Tenko come with you!?" Tenko was obviously taken aback by that response, and in an instant she was pleading with Himiko, while an uncomfortable Ryoma and Kaede shared a look. The red-haired girl merely shook her head, stubbornly beginning to walk up the stairs ahead of the pianist she intended on going with. "...I don't have to explain myself, please?"

Wait, had Himiko just politely asked Tenko something?? Kaede was disappointed in how shocked she was, but she reminded herself she'd just met the mage, and they were in a very dangerous and stressful situation, so she had to be open-minded!! The aikido master stared in surprise at the other girl, but with one final sigh, she reluctantly stepped away from the stairs. "Alright, be safe please!!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her." Kaede gave the obviously fraught with worry Tenko a thumbs up, and just like that, they split up, Himiko already waiting at the top for her, holding an impatient look but not saying anything. Once on the third floor, they found yet another talent development lab door, this one having a tennis racket design, waiting there for them.

Once inside the ultimate tennis player's lab, it was inspected to be an indoor tennis court, although the lights were quite dark in this area. Green tennis balls were strewn across the floor, and odd machinery shot the balls while another one batted it to the side to join the collection growing on the floor.

"Nyeh, so this is Ryoma's lab, right?" Himiko deduced as she kicked a green tennis ball idly, and Kaede awkwardly nodded in response. It was... weird being with the person she had the worst relationship with, or at least that's what she thought. Why had Yumeno even chosen to come with her? There had to be some reason...

As Kaede further investigated, she found what looked like a door to a shower room, and she curiously pushed it open to reveal an even more dimly lit area. It took her eyes a bit to adjust, but when she did she was faced with Monokuma's cruel joke of an add-on. It looked like a prison cell, with a rack of handcuffs, barred doors that were integrated into the bathroom lockers, and several sinks that added onto the damp room. It was awful... and it was just something to remind Ryoma of how even if he escaped here, he'd be sent straight back into confinement.

Pursing her lips, Kaede retreated from the room, glaring at the door as she stepped out, closing it behind her. She didn't want Ryoma to find this room, she really didn't. Himiko seemed curious but didn't say much as she walked over, opening her mouth to say something. "Did you find anyth-"

"Woah, watch out!!" A green tennis ball went straight for the back of Himiko's head, and Kaede pulled the girl out of the way just in time, although the hat she wore fell off of her head. Letting the girl pull back out of from the quick embrace, the blonde checked over her to make sure she was alright. "Are you okay-?"

"Why?" Himiko's quiet response was unexpected, and Kaede curiously asked why as she picked up the hat and handed it to the former. "Why what?"

"Why help me? I'm... mean to you, I'm mean to Tenko, and still both of you...!!" W-Wait, was Himiko crying?! Kaede panicked as she leaned in to put her hands on the other girl's shoulders, worry glinting in her gaze. "Hey, what's wrong?"

It was a few more moments of sniffling until Himiko responded, one hand tightly gripping her witch hat while the other wiped at her eyes. "It's just... people think it's really easy to bully me, so I thought- I thought if I acted like one of them they'd leave me alone...

"B-But it hurts to be mean, I like it a lot better when I'm making people smile...!!" Kaede gave a soft smile as Himiko put her hat over her head, pulling it down over her face to perhaps hide herself- it reminded her of Shuichi.

"You know, we're a lot a like, now that I think about it," Kaede started, and as Himiko slowly looked up at her, she continued, "I was bullied too, but I also loved making people happy so much, so I just put all my work into those moments.

"I know it's hard, especially in a situation like this, but there's already a lot of people who care about you, like me and Tenko!!" Kaede finished, giving a bright and reassuring smile as she squeezed Himiko's shoulder ; the aforementioned female shut her eyes for a moment before guiltily averting them to the side. "Tenko makes me uncomfortable sometimes..."

"And that's fine!! You've just gotta respectfully set boundaries, okay? I'm sure she'll understand." Kaede explained, only for Himiko to shake her head and raise her voice shakily. "But what if she doesn't?! What if she starts to bully me and say mean things?!"

"Do you really think Tenko is the type of person to do that?" Kaede honestly questioned, a knowing smile on her face as Himiko slowly blinked. The brown-eyed girl wrung her hands, and after a bit of hesitation and thought, she shook her head. "...no."

"Then that's settled!!" Kaede proclaimed with a note of finality, and grabbing Himiko's hand, they left the room together, a suddenly new bond formed between them. Tenko was ecstatic to see them coming down the stairs, and maybe a bit jealous to see them holding hands, but of who was unclear. Ryoma, obviously a bit worn, gave them a small gesture of recognition, and the group reunited to discuss their findings.

"We found Gonta's lab, it was full of bugs so I'm sure he'll be happy." Ryoma explained, the dull glint in his eyes being replaced with amusement for just a moment. "What did you guys find?"

"Y-Your lab, actually, it was pretty cool!!" Kaede not-so-smoothly lied to Ryoma, although it wasn't like she was lying, just hiding some of the truth, but that still made her stumble over her words. He gave her a suspicious look for a moment, her smile faltering ever so slightly, but then he grunted and turned his gaze away. "Alright, well, it's not like I've got a use for it, so I probably won't be seeing it much."

"What now?" Tenko asked as she shot Ryoma a look that could've been sympathy, although that was hard to believe coming from the boy-hater known as Chabashira. Kaede thought for a moment, tapping a finger against her chin before she pointed the same appendage towards the hallway across from them. "Did you guys check over there?"

"Yeah, there's nothing there." Ryoma was oddly assertive as he said this, although his face didn't portray that much of a difference in emotions as he reached into his pocket for another candy cigarette. Kaede's gaze lingered on him for a moment, but she decided not to press for answers : she was hiding something as well, so she'd follow his lead in that sense.

"Nyeh, then let's head back downstairs... I wanna take a break." Himiko mumbled, and Tenko quickly bobbed her head in agreement, sending a fist through the air to prove her point. "Alright, then that's where Tenko will go!!"

"I think... I'll stay up here." Ryoma stated shortly, and without waiting for a response, he walked up the second flight of stairs. Tenko huffed, giving an irritable but almost knowing glare in his direction. "Hmph, he thinks he's so cool just because he's a loner...!!"

"A-Alright, let's go back downstairs then." Kaede cut Tenko off, and just like that, they retreated for a quick break. Well, the mage and aikido master did, the pianist decided she wanted to check on how everyone else was doing. Her journey took her outside and towards a large building she'd never noticed for, the door freshly opened and Maki was standing by the door disinterestedly.

While it gave her a bit of anxiety, Kaede liked to think that their relationship had improved, so with a trademark outgoing smile, she walked up and called out to Maki. "Oh, hey!! What did you find here?"

Maki's vermilion eyes bore into Kaede for a moment, subconsciously making Kaede shudder, but the former relinquished the information with an annoyed click of her tongue. "A casino."

"A casino?" Kaede parroted in surprise, and rolling her eyes, Maki snappily asserted her statement once again. "A casino, idiot. Kaito's being dumb and gambling in there, or... or something, I wouldn't know."

"O-Oh, okay." Smooth, really smooth Maki. Kaede nearly giggled at the thought of the girl protectively watching Kaito from afar, but she stopped herself since she wanted to avoid physical violence today. Giving a small farewell to the unresponsive brunette, Akamatsu continued forward and into a rather fancy walkway surrounded by water, leading towards a building with big bright yellow words reading 'CASINO.' Huh, wonder what that place was used for.

Kaede chuckled at her own joke and walked inside, interest and slight intimidation glinting in her gaze due to the grand structure she was heading into. It was just as overwhelming inside as it was on the outside, and she didn't try to stifle the small gasp that left her lips as she walked inside. It was so colorful, vibrant red and yellow themes and countless monitors where you could earn 'monocoins,' the currency they had in this killing game. There were shops in the back to cash in prizes, and in the back corner she could see the remaining three of Rantaro's group hovering around a slot machine.

"Aaaargh, damn it, not again!!" Kaito cursed furiously as he apparently lost this game, and Tsumugi hovered over his shoulder in awe and fascination. "Wow, you were so lucky at first, but now you're half way down on your original winnings!! Don't you think it's a good idea to give up now?"

"Never, the luminary of the stars doesn't give up!!" Kaito shot back stubbornly, and Tsumugi shrugged before continuing to watch in amusement as he struck unlucky once again. Kaede was so invested in the scenario going on over by the slot machines, that she didn't notice Rantaro walking up to her before he addressed her by name. "Oh, hey, Kaede. What's up?"

"Rantaro!!" Kaede snapped her attention to Rantaro immediately and after exchanging a brief apologetic look, she explained her motive for coming over here. "Well, we finished exploring with the dragon orb, and found Kirumi, Gonta, and Ryoma's ultimate labs!! We kind of split up and I just wanted to see what everyone else has found."

"Makes sense to me. While you're here... wanna test your luck?" Something about Rantaro's words had a playful challenge to them, and while Kaede wasn't quite sure what he meant, she replied with a self-assured grin. "Sure, let's do it!!

"...um, what's it, exactly?"

<| |>


	21. Seashells and Magic Spells

<| |>

Kaede and Kaito had about the same luck, and one by one, Kaede's coins disappeared and Rantaro was left victorious, Tsumugi a mere bystander. Finally, she was left in defeat with nothing else to her name, groaning along with the astronaut beside her, a certain mystery male chuckling in amusement. "Did you have fun, Kaede?"

"Oh, shush!!" Kaede pouted, sighing as she stood up, adjusting her backpack straps before turning her attention to Rantaro. "Well, that was sure... something, dang you for wasting my time!!"

It was a joking statement of course, and Kaede gave Rantaro a playful punch in the arm to go with it. He frowned though, seemingly concerned as he put a ringed-hand on his hip. "Ah, you're right, I didn't mean to hold you up. You wanted to go check and see what the others had found, right?"

"Oh nono, it's fine!!" Kaede quickly went to reassure him otherwise, giving a nervous laugh as she wondered where he'd gotten this sense of responsibility from. Dang, Rantaro was really a good guy, going so far as to be overly apologetic sometimes and things onto himself that he didn't have to. The way they both seemed to want to burden everyone's worries and save the day... they really were alike, weren't they?

"Alright, if you're sure." Rantaro luckily backed down pretty quick, not as stubborn as everyone else stuck in the same situation. He held a cool smile and blinked appreciatively at Kaede, just as supportively cool as ever. "Hope everything goes well, I think I'm gonna stay and check around here some more."

As Rantaro said that, he shot a look over to Kaito and Tsumugi, and Kaede quickly picked up on what he meant. She smiled brightly at him and began to step away, giving him a knowing wave. "Hehe, take care of them then, good luck!!"

"Yeah, thanks, Kaede." Rantaro lifted his hand in a nonchalant gesture of 'seeya later,' and as Kaede walked out of the casino, she couldn't help but be reminded of a brother figure. He wasn't too pressuring and he tried not to hover, but he was always there if you needed him, and she really found comfort in that fact.

The sunlight greeted Kaede like an old friend as she headed back into the large courtyard, and turning down the cobbled path, she headed around and checked around the school, coming to stop at a place near the back where a newly found, bright blue sign reading 'pool' was waiting for her.

"Woah, really, a pool?! That's awesome!!" Kaede exclaimed in amazement, and she could already feel the cool water washing over her skin in a remedial manner. Kiibo, who she had not noticed before, didn't seem too excited though, as he awkwardly hung around the entrance. "Yes, I suppose it is nice... for everyone."

"Is something wrong?" Kaede asked with a small frown of worry, noticing that Kiibo looked a little bit lonely all out here alone. "Where's everyone else?"

"Angie and Miu are inside, but I'm not quite waterproof so I'd like to avoid that area..." Kiibo started, giving an automated sigh as he twiddled his thumbs with slight exasperation. "If I absorb water I won't exactly have too many problems, it just mainly messes with my sensory system, making it hard to control my body."

"Oh... I understand." Kaede gave him a pitying smile : yet another thing Kiibo would never experience. She could tell that he felt left out though, so she decided that it was worth taking the risk of moving to grab his hand. "Come on, let's go see everyone, we'll make sure not to go too close to the pool!!"

"Wh-What? Kaede, I don't think that's very sa-" Kiibo's protest were cut off as Kaede dragged him through the doors, half of her wanting to see the robot smile, and the other half of her just wanting to check out the pool!!

As soon as Kaede stepped inside, the scent of chlorine smacked her right in the face, although it was refreshing in a way- it seemed... normal. It was a nice little taste of the outside world, although she'd never visit this fancy of an indoor pool. The walls were a deep saffron and had a few spots of ingrown vines, the pool taking up the majority of the room as the turquoise water lapped at the steps leading downwards. The roof was just glass and let the sunchairs soak up the sun, plus a diving board hovered a few feet below the glass dome.

"Wow, this looks like a pool straight out of a movie...!!" Kaede gushed, awe in her gaze as she took a few steps forward, and she noticed a happy-looking Angie bouncing around with glee. Miu seemed less impressed, idly standing around and trying to ignore the overly peppy artist that danced around her. Once the strawberry blonde caught sight of Kiibo, still trying to stay close to the doors, she visibly perked up.

"Advanced butt-plug finally decided to show up, huh?! You don't keep a boss ass bitch like me waiting ya know!!" Miu's words were harsh as she beckoned him over, but she had a lopsided grin on her face, which made the actions seem a bit more friendly. Kiibo seemed a bit hesitant, but obliged anyways and walked up to her, which obviously pleased the inventor. "Sorry, I didn't want to risk becoming a nuisance..."

Miu didn't seem to quite understand that Kiibo had directed that at himself, and she quickly jumped to conclusions with a hissing fit. "What?! Who the fuck called you that?! Tell me their god damn name right now-!!"

Kaede giggled at the display of friendship, finding the two quite cute together ; it was nice to know the wild Miu had a stable person like Kiibo to rely on. As the two continued to have their conversation, Angie called attention to herself by letting out another joyful laugh, swaying back and forth hyperactively. "Nyahaha, how divine!!"

"What is?" Kaede asked her curiously, interested to see what was making the other burst with such happiness, and Angie seemed extremely happy to reply. She clasped her hands together and tilted her head, letting out another cheery giggle, which made the pianist feel just as excited for some reason.

"This wonderful setting reminds Angie of her lovely home, she's ecstatic to be able to go swimming again!!" Angie explained with a fond sigh, and Kaede nodded along in understanding : it really did make sense that the girl would have some sort of homesickness, this must be a very different place than her own island. Now that she thought about it, Akamatsu found her own chest harboring a longing for her home, family, and friends...

"You should come swimming with Angie sometime, we can contact Him by going under water until we submerge into our subconscious and ascend!!" Angie snapped Kaede back to attention with her voice, clear as a bell as she eagerly looked to the taller girl for an answer. That actually sounded like blacking out- but other than that, the blonde wasn't able to find a problem with it, in fact, she was quite looking forward to the idea when she entered, so she smiled and bobbed her head in agreement. "Sure!! There should be some swimsuits and pool stuff in the storage room, right?"

"Indeed, and there are pool supplies as well in a blue-doored room to the right of the entrance!!" Angie chipped in with a bounce of her heels, and twirled around with a sparkling smile. "Although, Angie always has her swimsuit, so she could go swimming now!!"

As soon as Angie said that, she took a large step backwards and let her body fall into the pool, and even if her body was small, she caused quite a big splash ; such a big splash in fact, that the water's reach managed to douse Kiibo as well. Shock immediately shot through Kaede and she watched in frantic worry as the robotic male swiftly stiffened, a pause of silence following for a moment. That was until his form sporadically jolted, electricity sparking for a moment as he began to flounder, letting out a static-filled shout of distress.

"K-Kiibo!!" Kaede spluttered, taking a worried step forward, but Miu beat her to it with an oddly serious and composed demeanor. The strawberry blonde prevented Kiibo's body from tilting over, struggling a bit with the weight but otherwise efficiently keeping him balanced as she stabilized him. "Damn, that dumb professor asshole doesn't have enough sense to make you water proof?! Fuckin' dickcheese..."

"I-It's very d-d-difficult to- difficult to make it water-ter-ter proof- water proof!!" Kiibo struggled to get out a response, even as he appeared to be in a panic, he defended his creator. Miu only rolled her eyes though and began to push him forward, with him doing his best to move as well, even if his movements were often unpredictable in nature. "Whatever, you're just damn lucky I'm here!! I'll move ya to my talent lab and fix you up, or whatever."

"Wait, Miu, you have a talent lab?!" Kaede parroted in surprise, a little out of place in this situation and awkwardly standing on the sidelines, not really knowing what to do to help Kiibo. Miu gave her an annoyed look in response, and she spoke nonchalantly as she tried a new approach at moving the male, going to sling his arms around her shoulders, which surprisingly worked decently enough. "Damn right, shitty me!! It's been there since the fuckin' start, it's just all the way out in the middle of nowhere, the only reason I found it is because the damn jail-bait Angie broke into it!!"

"You're welcome!!" Angie's little head popped up from the water, and she gave an innocent wave in Miu's direction, the latter just clicking her tongue in annoyance before continuing to make the hellish walk to her lab. Kaede shot her a pitying look before feeling a tug on her leg, and she peered down to see the playful face of the artist still beaming up at her. "Kaede, He says you should come swimming with Angie now!!"

"Erm, sorry Angie, I've still got to go and see how Korekiyo and his group are doing- maybe later, okay?" Kaede compromised with an apologetic smile, and Angie stared unblinkingly at her for a moment before she shrugged, diving back into the water once again. At this, our protagonist breathed a silent sigh of relief and proceeded to exit the pool area, feeling worried, but satisfied with this discovery nonetheless.

Kaede stepped back into the cooling Prison Academy once again, not knowing any other places to check for Korekiyo outside, as she had visited every place she thought possible. The sound of rushing water led her along a stream that ran through a crack in the rundown school's floor, eventually ending coming across Gonta, who appeared to be inspecting the brooklet, too.

"Hey, Gonta!! Did you find anything?" Kaede gave a friendly wave as she stepped forward, and Gonta's head immediately perked up to give a puppy-like smile, getting back up onto his feet to tower over her once again. "Gonta looking for bugs, but... sadly Gonta not find any. Wonder where they went?"

"Oh um... I'm not sure about that, but it is pretty strange." Kaede mused with him, and it was true, where were all the bugs? How could they possibly keep out insects which were so tiny and practically everywhere in the world? She still didn't know what these people were capable of, and it hurt to think about, so... she'd just tackle what was right there in front of her, for now. "You went with Korekiyo and Kirumi, right? Where are they?"

"Oh!! Gonta knows!!" Gonta dropped the previous topic quickly and turned around to gesture towards a new medieval-looking hallway, which Kaede admittedly hadn't noticed before ; what can she say? Gonta was quite the attention snatcher, after all. She quickly thanked him and left him to continue searching, her footsteps now echoing in this new passageway.

It was a rather short hallway, and Kaede only had to turn once to not only meet another dead end, but yet another strange door that must've been someone's talent lab. It was a sapphire color, astrological symbols painted across the door and, strangely enough, a strawberry drawing in the center. Pushing the door open, she was only to be met with a clashing scenery of a vibrant red room with various magic show props strewn around the room.

Chains held a iron chandelier, there were a cage of doves next to the classic impaling trick, what looked to be a guillotine, a cauldron, a glass tank, and a circular saw hovering above a purple box. Korekiyo and Kirumi were of course inside, and seemed to be discussing the model of guillotine the trick was using before Kaede had entered, and both of their feline gazes snapped up to observe her.

"Ah, Kaede, it's delightful of you to drop by." Kirumi offered a smile and a dip of her head in Kaede's direction, which of course made her immediately flustered, and the similarly attractive Korekiyo gave her his own gesture of acknowledgement. "I suppose you can guess that this is most likely the ultimate magician's lab, correct?"

"O-Oh, yeah, hey!!" Kaede gave a floundering attempt to politely wave back, and she thought back to Himiko : so this was her talent lab, then? Tenko would surely love to see some tricks be performed, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't interested, too!! "So, um.. what's up? Find anything interesting? B-Besides this cool lab of course-"

"Well, it is quite concerning that there are live doves in here... we shall have to take care of their wellbeing." Kirumi brought the cage to attention once again, and Kaede nodded in understanding as she took a step forward, carefully opening it to peek inside, Korekiyo speaking up as she did so. "Indeed, and who has been feeding these birds before we came across this place-?"

"Yeah I- get you?!" Kaede's hands seemed to have slipped however, and her vision became a cloud of white as the birds flew right out and around her face, knocking backwards in a coughing fit. Korekiyo and Kirumi both had their own exclamations of surprise before they did their best to put them back up, and maybe it was better if Kaede hadn't visited Angie and Korekiyo today- she seemed unfortunately unlucky at the moment.

"I'm sorry-!!"

<| |>


	22. A Few Steps at a Time

<| |>

It took quite a while to get the birds back into the cage, but with the help of the ultimate maid, and Korekiyo who tried out some ancient funny-sounding bird calls, the mission was accomplished. Kaede felt absolutely awful about everything, and as she regained her casual breathing pattern, she shot the two an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry about that, it's my fault..."

"Everything is alright now, at least, so let's not dwell on the past." Korekiyo reassured her with a chuckle, continuing on with an amused twinkle in his eye, "although I wonder, will we face similar escapades with every new talent lab we discover?"

"Hey!!" Kaede called out with a slight blush of embarrassment, and she gave a playful pout to Korekiyo. Kirumi on the other hand had her lips pursed in thought, a gloved hand held to her chin as she took another look around this room. "Monokuma allegedly created this academy for the sixteen of us, so would I be correct in assuming there should be sixteen ultimate labs as a whole?"

"Well, if what he says is true, then I suppose so. These seem to be public as well, since they have no locks, unlike the dorms." Korekiyo continued on the subject, and at that Kirumi's eyes anxiously flickered over to the many sharp objects in this room. "Do you think it'll be safe leaving objects such as these out in the open?"

Kaede understood what Kirumi was alluding to- there were many potential weapons in this room, and it was an easily accessible place to get to... but they had to trust each other, no matter what!! With that thought in mind, she stood her ground and raised her voice authoritatively. "Of course, there's no way the killings will start again, so there's no point in worrying!!"

"Of course, you're right, Kaede, my apologies." Kirumi dipped her head in understanding, and Kaede tried to ignore the brief doubtful look she shared with Korekiyo, which made her upset to a fault. Still, maybe it was foolish to think so brazenly... but if she let Monokuma change her outlook on life, then that means he would've won!! She couldn't let that happen, never, because then what would make her her?

"Um, anyway... I checked up on everyone else, and I think we're ready to meet back up in the gym auditorium, right?" Kaede decided to cut to the chase to avoid catching anymore doubt-inducing comments, and the two sophisticated, taller ultimates nodded in response.

"Yes, that makes sense, shall we go then?" With Kirumi's prompting them to do so, the three moved out of the talent lab and to the waiting entomologist outside. The unnaturally tall male turned to give them a smile and waved a friendly hand in their direction. "Gonta kept watch!! Angie told him everyone going to gym, we go too?"

"I don't see any reason not to." Korekiyo responded, and Kaede couldn't help but agree, in fact, she was quite eager to get back in the same room with everyone : she'd never admit it, but she was somewhat worried about leaving people alone with each other in this situation. A part of her blind optimism had been snatched away from her after the deaths of two central characters in her killing game world, but she'd never let that happen again.

"Okay, Gonta lead the way then!!" The cheerful boy offered, and his muscular back became their viewpoint as they walked towards the gym, which wasn't too far away. Kirumi's heels clicked against the floor, a black and white checkered flooring with grass overgrowing through the cracks.

"I assume you know about the scarab beetle, Gonta?" Korekiyo's crackling voice was a bit of a surprise after the beats of silence that had fell upon them, but it was a welcome tone no doubt- at least for Kaede, some might call it creepy, maybe it was just her who thought differently.

"Yes, Gonta does!! You want to talk about bugs with Gonta?!" Gonta genuinely seemed excited to talk about his talent's subject with the other male, and it seemed Korekiyo could tell as an impression of a smile spread out from underneath his mask. "Well, yes, actually. As an entomologist, do you also research the cultural meanings of the bugs you study?"

"Oh, yes, yes Gonta does!! He knows the difference between Egypt and Hebrew views on flies, because!! Because to Egypt, flies meaning valor and bravery, while Hebrew thinks they mean evil!!" Gonta excitedly gushed out, and even with his huge lungs, he had to take a moment and pause to recover his breath. Korekiyo took this chance to chuckle in amusement, eyes a bit wide with a fond surprise. "You truly are brilliant, aren't you? Some might not expect it, but they're sorely mistaken."

"Yeah, Gonta knows he's not well with words... but he's really smart, promise!!" Gonta's tone almost seemed pleading as he finished off his sentence, and Kaede couldn't help but jump in with a reassuring smile. "I know you are, you're so awesome, I believe you!!"

"Really? Kaede means it?" Gonta looked like a sad puppy almost, and that really pulled at Kaede's heart strings as she readily nodded back. A smile was curving on Kirumi's black-painted lips now as well, and she dipped her head respectfully in his direction. "You really are bursting with potential, I'm sure it won't go to waste."

"Thank... thank you all, thank you very much!!" Gonta was absolutely precious, Kaede could count on that fact even with her life on the line. She tried to match his dazzling smile with one of her own sunny smiles, and she shared a heartfelt look with him as they entered the gymnasium.

As soon as Kaede's ears met the chatter of the other students, she could easily pick out Angie's eccentric, cheery tone calling them over with her usual persevering positivity. "Gather round, gather round, let us all thank Him for successfully granting us access to these new areas!!"

"Whatever jailbait, make this quick, I have somethin wayyyy more important to do with this virg-robo!!" Miu's grating voice came over from Kiibo's side, who Kaede was happy to see since he looked relatively well functioning. She gave him a little wave and nodded in his direction, "are you feeling better now?"

"Of course he fuckin is, all thanks to me that is!!" Miu seemed strangely territorial as she immediately answered for him, but Kiibo didn't seem to mind too much as he sent Kaede an apologetic glance before smiling appreciatively at her. "Yes, thank you for asking!! Miu is very talented, I was in good hands with her."

At this, the aforementioned inventor's face turned red and she gave a cheeky giggle, averting her eyes to the side as she toyed with her hair in a contrastingly shy manner. "W-Well yeah, damn right!! Damn er, damn right, ehehe..."

"Well, anyways..." Kaede giggled sheepishly at the two's behavior, Miu certainly being a handful, but seemingly a handful that Kiibo could handle ; they were honestly kind of cute, and while she might've been the teensiest bit jealous, she thought the two worked well together. "I'm glad, sorry for getting you in that situation in the first place!!"

"Heyyyy, hellooooo, Angie here!!" That sing-song voice called Kaede to attention again and she turned her lavender gaze onto the short artist, her tanned hands clasped together in a merry way. "Guess what?! He guided Miu, Kiibo and I to a pool, did you hear me? A pool!!"

"W-Woah, really? What kind of pool, like- an out doorsy back yard type or a resort level pool?!" Tenko blurted, looking surprisingly eager to find out the answer to her question. Kiibo seemed to process her words for a moment before responding with an unsure tone. "Well, I wasn't there for very long, but to me it seemed like a very high end establishment."

"It had loads of pool shit, ya know, the usual." Miu offhandedly said, not seeming to hyped up about the whole place, but not thinking poorly of it either. Ryoma hummed, fiddling with the brim of his hat as he nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I smelled chlorine from Gonta's lab, I guess that'd be the source."

"Wait- Gonta has lab?!" Gonta immediately perked up at that, eyes widening in excitement, and Kaede remembered hearing that there was a lab for him after all, along with a few others, too. "Yeah, there's one for Kirumi and Ryoma, too!!"

"Oh, really?" Kirumi's features were as serene as ever, but Kaede thought she could detect a hint of delight in the way her eyes widened a fraction.

"Nyeh, yeah... there are a looot of renewal potions and stuff, you could turn these ruins into a neat looking castle." Himiko droned from beside Ryoma, actually a little while away from Tenko, which was a surprise to see. Maybe it was just Kaede, but both of the girls seemed a little bit relieved, happier maybe? Whatever it was, Kaede's happy that whatever was going on between them was resolved.

"That's good to know, thank you very much Himiko, maybe I can clean up our temporary abode a bit." Kirumi dipped her head gratefully and smiled, seeming to look forward to the intense chores she would have to partake in. Kaito swooped in to give her an appreciative clap on the back, grinning from ear to ear as Kaede felt a twinge of a protective urge at that action. "Wow, really? You're awesome lady, like a super nanny or something!!"

"Super nanny...?" Kirumi frowned at this, looking uncomfortable as she kept a polite aura about her, and Maki rolled her eyes before tugging the taller male away. "Stop being so dumb, she's the same age as the rest of us, you're making her sound like an old lady, idiot."

"So kind..." Tsumugi gushed dreamily, hovering over Maki's shoulder as the latter's face heated up and she clicked her tongue in annoyance, trying to hide the slight crack in her icy mask. Chuckling, Rantaro shook his head fondly at the small trio before stepping up to give his group's report. "Well, we found a gambling casino with the crank prize, you can earn monocoins there, that's pretty much it."

"Damn, do they have a bar in that bitch??" Miu's concerningly enthusiastic question was swept to the side by a carefree smiling Rantaro, who turned to Korekiyo. "I guess that leaves you guys then, right?"

"Indeed it does." Korekiyo dipped his head in a nod and obliged to give his report, arms folded against his chest. "We discovered what appears to be Himiko's talent lab, although be warned that there are plenty of dangerous items located within."

"Really??" Himiko's face seemed to light up at this, and she rocked up to stand on her toes to apparently get more attention drawn to her, or appear taller. "And o-of course it'd be dangerous to go in if you weren't me!! There are magical wards that could trip and completely wipe you from existence, very powerful ones..."

"Hm, is that so? Would the wards appear as inscriptions? Or perhaps they took form as familiars, which I believe Kaede incited the wrath of." Korekiyo shot Kaede a cheeky glance as he referenced the earlier incident, and she felt her face heat up with embarrassment. Self consciously crossing her arms, she tried to give him a frown, but the corners of her lips still managed to keep curling up into a smile. "Hey, technically I set them free, so I'd be on their good side!! You guys are the ones who put them back in the cage!!"

"Wh-What, there are familiars in my lab??" If Himiko wasn't excited before, she was definitely ecstatic now, and looking more energetic then Kaede had ever seen her. Her eyes kept darting to the door of the gym, and it looked like she was ready to race to her talent lab at that exact moment.

"Yes, doves to be exact, there were about four if I remember correctly. Would you like me to take you there?" Kirumi offered, also able to pick up on Himiko's inclination, and almost immediately the red head bobbed her head in a frantic yes. "Mhm!!"

"Well then, I believe that's all we have to discuss for today?" Kirumi's eyes darted around to get approval from everyone, and when her gaze fell on Kaede, the blonde gave her a jittery smile, which the other reciprocated for a moment. "Alright, I suppose we will get going now."

"S-Sounds good, Tenko will see you later!!" As soon as the meeting had for sure ended, Tenko gave a hyperactive wave to the two girls before rushing over to Kaede, pretty much bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Can Tenko talk to Kaede for a moment, if she doesn't mind!!"

"Oh, um, sure!! What's up?" Kaede blinked a bit in surprise at Tenko's rush, but still agreed nonetheless and gave her a smile to ease the other's possible anxiety. The aikido master gave an audible sigh of relief at this, her posture relaxing from what appeared to be her on the tip of her toes, too.

"Okay sososo, Kaede saw the new pool right?? Is it cool, is it nice, Tenko doesn't want to take Kiibo's word on it since he might be built to be a degenerate- so she wants your opinion!!" Tenko's words were a flurry of jumbled noises as they flooded out of her mouth, but somehow Kaede still managed to figure out what she was saying, and she cracked a giggle at her choice of wording. Even a technically androgynous robot wasn't protected from her wrath, huh?

"Yeah, it was really nice!! It had natural lighting and a really nice vibe to it, it really felt like a fancy resort!!" Kaede explained to her, and as she did so, she watched Tenko's eyes widen with happiness. "You're pretty excited about it, aren't you?"

"Well yes, yes Tenko is!! You see, Tenko grew up in the northern parts of japan, and she didn't get to enjoy summer weather type of stuff- she had pools, sure, but they were all sort of spas with hot water, you know?" Tenko twiddled with her thumbs as she spoke, a bashful blush on her face all the while. "So, it's just, you know, if Kaede didn't mind, maybe-"

"I'd love to go to the pool with you!!" Before Tenko had even finished stumbling through her request, Kaede gave her a bright smile and accepted. The other girl immediately brightened at that, but it appeared she wanted more to say as she looked back to her hands once again. "Thank you so much!! It really, really means a lot, it's just ahhh Tenko kinda wanted to see if it could be a group thing...?

"I-If not Tenko's fine with that, she'd love to spend a whole day with a pretty girl like Kaede-" Kaede cut off Tenko before she could start feverishly apologizing, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, although that seemed to just burn up her face in a flustered way. It was kind of cute honestly, but when was Chabashira not cute?"

"No don't worry, I've got it!! Himiko's probably gonna be there, right?" Kaede had stated that first part without thinking, but then she recalled her talk with the mage, and wished she could backtrack on that statement. Tenko's face didn't become to downcast though, it seemed a bit serious but in a calm and appeased way. "Mhm, Tenko'll invite Himiko if she wants to come, they talked some things out and...

"Tenko thinks their friendship is going to be a lot better from now on!!" Tenko finished off her sentence with a tone of finality, and for Kaede at least, it seemed that worrisome bud of toxicity had been taken care of before things escalated in a detrimental way.

"I'm really glad to hear that, I think you two will be really good friends!!" A day or two ago, that would've been a lie, but Kaede meant those words now. It looked like Tenko recognized that too, and she beamed as she took the blonde's hands in hers to give them a thankful squeeze. "Thank you... yeah, yeah yeah!! Let's go ask Himiko, maybe Kirumi too, let's go!!"

Seeing how happy Tenko was, Kaede felt that this was definitely the right choice, and with a smile, she led the other towards where she thought Himiko would be- her talent lab of course!! Our heroine gave a rhythmic knock on the door before peeking in with a sheepish look on her face, a little nervous to cause another mess in this particular space. "Hey, mind if we come in?"

"Nyahaha, wow, right on time Miss Kaede!!" Unexpectedly, Angie's voice was the first one to reach Kaede's ears when she stepped into the room, the familiar artist giving a cheerful wave beside the water tank from earlier. Himiko was closely watching Kirumi, who treated the doves with a bit of sunflower seeds she'd gotten from the kitchen, which was smart, as it was unclear how long the doves have gone unfed in that cage.

"Nyeh, not the familiars I was hoping for... but they're still very powerful!!" Himiko mumbled to seemingly herself, although she caught wind of Kaede's arrival and snuck a glance their way. First the girl's brown eyes hit lavender, then they landed on Tenko before dulling a bit. The owner was polite at least, and dipped her head in the two's direction. "Welcome to Himiko Yumeno's lab... you are permitted to enter."

"Permitted to enter!!" Angie parroted with a clap of her hands, and Himiko seemed startled at the back up, but pleased nonetheless. The red head scratched her cheek and shot a bashful smile, which the ocean-eyed girl returned ten fold. Their dynamic seemed interesting, compatible maybe, and not just because they're both short!!

"Do you need to request anything of me, Kaede?" Kirumi appeared to have finished tending to the doves and carefully closed the cage door, proceeding to turn and smile at Kaede. Tenko seemed to feel a bit left out as she peeked over the blonde's shoulder, the pool party had been her idea after all. "T-Tenko's here, too!!"

"I see, what do you need, Tenko?" Kirumi obliged in turning her attention to Tenko, but that just seemed to put her on the spot as she fumbled with her calloused hands. It was pretty adorable, but Kaede didn't want to leave her to flounder, so she put a hand on the other's back and explained the situation. "Tenko and I want to gather some people and go to the pool together!! Aaaand we wanted to invite you three!!"

"Ooh, reallyyy? Himiko was just planning something, too!!" Angie piped up, and Himiko's face reddened as she was called to attention. Tenko seemed particularly interested, and she shot the magician an excited look. "What is it Himiko?! If Tenko needs to, sh-she'll cancel her pool hangout!!"'

Himiko's face scrunched up as she pulled down her magician hat, trying to hide behind the brim as she stubbornly turned away from the pairs of eyes on her. "...It's a secret, leave me alone."

"Okie dokie!!" Angie was quick to comply and gloss over the subject she'd brought up, Tenko hurrying to follow in her footsteps as not to agitate Himiko. "Yeah, it's totally fine!! Do you er, still wanna go to the pool with Tenko...?"

"..." Himiko was unresponsive yet again as she was faced with another question she didn't intend to answer, but maybe it was a good sign that she didn't immediately shut the idea down. Noticing how Tenko shrunk anxiously, Kaede chimed in to give a supportive tip. "It won't just be Tenko, I'll be there, too!! And maybe Angie and Kirumi if they want to come?"

Kaede added the last part with a cheeky grin, and the two mentioned females seemed pleased with the proposal. Kirumi mulled over the thought with a gloved finger to her black-painted lips, eventually nodding her head along. "I'd be happy to help your function go smoothly, is that your request?"

"Uh, yeah!! That and make sure to have fun!!" Kaede pressured, and although Kirumi's amused smile didn't seem too convincing, she nodded even so. Angie was a lot more enthusiastic about the whole thing, and she even went as far as to take Himiko's hands in hers abrasively. "Nyahaha, that sounds like sooo much fun, let's go Himiko, let's go!!"

"...Nyeh, I guess I have enough MP to power your adventure." Himiko finally agreed, although she didn't appear too unhappy about it, it was more likely that she was simply hiding an excitement as to keep her pride in tact. Angie gave a cheer and threw her arms in the air, and from the sides Tenko gave her own smile as well, but it dimmed when she saw how the mage was looking at the artist in amusement. She was... jealous maybe?

"Wonderful Himiko, Angie knew she could count on you!!" Angie cooed once more, causing Himiko's face to flush a faint pink as she scratched at her cheek to avoid the topic. "Whatever, I'm tired, let's get this over with..."

Kaede smiled victoriously at this, and with her hands grasping her backpack straps, checkered bandanna hanging at the hip, she opened the door wide for the other girls to go ahead of her. "Come on, let's go find some swimsuits!!"

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	23. A Bit of Paradise in Hell

also, this chapter will be addressing various form of body appreciation, including bigger figures and smaller, as well as scars that might be self inflicted, so feel free to skip this chapter, nothing too important is going to happen!!

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It proved to be an easy feat to find swimsuits tucked away in the storage facility, all comprising of simple one piece bathing suits coming in multiple colors, with a slight stitching at the top of the padding that resembled waves. The girls were now changing in the girls bathroom, Tenko and Angie out in front of the mirrors with Kaede as Kirumi and Himiko finished getting ready.

"Isn't it a little too tight...?" Kaede's lips dipped into a rare frown as she hugged herself in the mirror, the purple swimsuit fabric drawing attention to her more weight-laden features. She wasn't very skinny, but that was totally fine, she loved her body!! But when there was the toned Tenko and the petite Angie, she couldn't help but feel a little self conscious.

"Wh-What?! No way, Tenko thinks you're absolutely gorgeous, Kaede!! Don't say things like that about yourself, or um, Tenko will-!!" Tenko immediately jumped to reassure Kaede, and the blonde felt her confidence slowly rise in her chest at the other's persistent efforts. She went to respond with a thankful smile, but squeaked as she felt a light force jump onto her, looking down to see Angie embracing her. "Nyahaha, body appreciation hugging time!! Kaede has a very beautiful body, that's what He says!!"

"Oh!! Thank you, Angie!! And... Angie's god!!" Kaede felt a little awkward stuttering out her response, afraid of being disrespectful in any way, but was still grateful nonetheless. Angie seemed delighted either way, and gave their hug another squeeze for hopping back, going off to hop from one square tile to the other. "Nyahaha, it's His and her pleasure!!"

Kaede's head was buzzing with a slight confidence now, chest feeling much lighter, but also feeling the need to return the favor of boosting her self assurance. "Tenko, you're so fit!! You look so powerful and it's really attractive, you could crush my skull with your thighs and I would thank you!!"

"-?! Tenko would n-never do that to you, Kaede!! Don't joke about horrible things like that, she doesn't wanna think about hurting a girl!!" Tenko was really devoted to women love women culture if she took that so literally, but her panic was still evident and Kaede didn't want to leave her to flounder like that. "Don't worry, it's just a joke!! I know a sweetheart like you would never do something like that."

"Still, er, Tenko's not attractive either!! Look, her arms are totally gross!!" Kaede flinched back in surprise when Tenko shoved her forearm in her face, and even then it took her a moment to understand what the aikido master was talking about. As the other anxiously waited, the blonde squinted and scanned, eventually seeing somewhat dark bristles sprouting out against her sun-tanned skin. "You don't... shave, is that it?"

"Is that it- yeah, isn't it so gross?! Tenko's all gross and hairy, like- like a male or something!!" Tenko was really pushing for Kaede to agree and tear her down, but of course she would never do that. Instead, she snorted and took the green-haired girl's hands in hers. "You look absolutely fine, Tenko, it's not your fault society decided to make it a bad thing to have natural hair. I don't even shave my arms are legs that much either, I'm just blonde!! See, it's fuzzy-"

An awkward moment filled with lesbian tension went by as a cherry-faced Tenko pet Kaede's arm, but at least the both of them seemed much more comfortable in their bodies. The creaking of a door drew their attention up though, just in time to see the newly dressed Himiko, whose face was just about as red as her hair.

"It's... cold." Himiko complained as she hugged her arms, which had goosebumps popping up on them instantaneously which was evident by the slight shivers of her body. Tenko seemed to be shuddering violently, too, but Kaede had a suspicion that it was just the energy trying to burst out of the aikido master's body.

"Y- You look very very very nice, Himiko!!" Tenko gushed, breathing a bit heavy, most likely due to the possible racing of her heart, and Kaede couldn't help but giggle and agree. "You really do!! Your skin is so pretty, like porcelain or something!!"

Face burning even brighter, Himiko reached up to pull her hat down over her head as a reflex but came down empty handed, so she just pressed her hands against her no doubt warm cheeks. "Nyeh, what are you saying...?"

"We're saying you look really nice!!" Kaede persisted, hands clasped together in front of her, and Tenko eagerly backed her up as she hopped a bit closer to Himiko. "Exactly!! Himiko's so pretty!! So cute, so adorable-"

"Adorable...?!" For some reason, Himiko seemed to break out into a glower and she pressed her hands harder against her face, sneaking what could be perceived as a jealous look towards Kaede. "Stop trying to use your lies on me!! I... I'm not a baby!! I'm an adult just like you guys!!"

"Himiko...?" Tenko's eyes widened in distress, and she reluctantly gave Himiko some space as she seemed to get worked up and flustered.

"I... I- I'm...!!" Himiko seemed to tire out easily as her breath became short, and she was huffing, face strained as more heat rose to her face. Her legs seemed to be about ready to give out when another pair of spindly arms wrapped around her, and the magician yelped in surprise as she was embraced by an Angie who'd been silent for most of the time.

"Himiko, do not worry!! No one's thinking that, believe in Angie!!" Angie cooed as she rested a tanned hand against Himiko's blushing face, although the latter seemed to slowly deflate and relax at these odd but supposedly welcome actions. "Believe...? How do you know? Everyone could be making fun of me in their head right now and...!!"

"Shh, ah ah!!" Angie gave a cheery smile as she held a finger to Himiko's lips, the other hand still cupping the other's face as she continued. "Believe in Angie, because Angie has the word of God backing her up!! She can't necessarily convince you to believe- but doesn't it seem like it'd make you happier if you believed in Angie?"

"Word of... nyah..." Himiko fumbled around with her words, ears still a flushed pink but at least calming down from the earlier vibrant red. With a happy hum, Angie spun around and pulled the red-head into another hug, a bright smile on her face. "There, are we better now?"

"I guess..." Himiko bashfully scratched at her chin with eyes averted to the ground, and Kaede was left to watch in awe at the show of empathy Angie had performed. She was really something... very caring and kind, there were multiple instances where Angie had come and done the same for her.

Tenko seemed a little distressed and disappointed though, most likely in herself and not at Himiko. Kaede could tell she was beating herself up over it by the way she kept squeezing her hand tighter and tighter, and she reached out to stop her when the final occupied stall opened.

"Sorry for keeping you all waiting." Kirumi... in a swimsuit... Kirumi in a... gosh she was absolutely gorgeous!! She looked as refined as ever, and Kaede couldn't help but stare, heart skipping more than a few beats in her chest.

"K- Kirumi..." Tenko seemed astonished too, but in a different way- why did she look so worried? Kaede frowned in confusion and her eyes darted back to Kirumi to search for an answer. The maid was standing very still and she looked more tense than usual, and... ah. Small marks, scars to be exact littered her legs, especially her hands and forearms. Did she take this long because she was self conscious...?

"Oh, Kirumi..." Kaede mumbled with a blank face, and Kirumi's face fell just a fraction, a look of resignation donning on her features, but she hadn't let the blonde finish. Smiling growing on her face, our protagonist gave another appreciative blush and clapped her hands together. "Kirumi, you look absolutely stunning!! It's almost a crime you kept us waiting for so long!!"

"Kaede-?" Kirumi's eyes widened a fraction, a shocked expression blooming on her features as Tenko blinked in surprise at first, before leaping to follow in Kaede's tracks. "Y-Yeah, Tenko thinks you're super duper pretty!!"

"Angie agrees as well, and so does God!! Isn't that right Himiko!!" Angie happily chirped, leaning over to call an unexpecting Himiko to attention, who jumped and looked around in confusion. "Nyeh...? Oh... yeah, you look like a fairy queen... wait, are you?!"

"I'm... I'm quite surprised..." Kirumi's cheeks glowed a soft pink, but she seemed to considerably relax and give a bashful smile. "I am very thankful for you all, you have my gratitude. You all look absolutely wonderful."

Himiko flushed at this and seemed distracted for a moment, fiddling with her hair before realization flashed across her features. "Wait, you're totally trying to dodge my question, aren't you?!"

Kirumi giggled light-heartedly at this, and it was music to all the girls' ears as they joined in, the atmosphere rising higher and higher as they exited the bathroom. A rush of cold air made Kaede shiver a bit, and she rubbed her goosebump covered arms as Angie skipped ahead, giving a twirl before holding the door open for the other three. "Right this way, let's go, He demands it!!"

"Tenko's going, she's going!!" Tenko grumbled somewhat as she was ushered through the door by the enthusiastic Angie, Kaede and the other two filing in after her. A strange rush filled her when she entered the pool area in actual swimwear, her heart floating on cloud nine. This was... nice, very nice.

"I've arranged items nearby for us to use in our games, if we play any, as well as refreshments." Kirumi's voice was warm and welcoming as she gestured towards the floaties and water guns gathered along the edge, and lemonade as well as ice water set on tables by sun lounging chairs.

"Brilliant, your efforts are divinely appreciated, Kirumi!!" Angie announced with a gleeful laugh, and Kirumi seemed to ponder her words for a moment, a spark of light flashing in her eyes. "I'm honored... has He specifically told you this?"

"Mhm, He thinks Kirumi's a wonderful asset, He can't wait to convert her!!" Angie's response incited an amused laugh from Kirumi, and it made sense that being acknowledged by an actual God must be very fulfilling.

"Gahhhh Tenko can't wait anymore!!" Tenko's trembling voice over Kaede's shoulder snapped her out of her study of Kirumi, and she looked around just in time to see the aikido master rush by and take a leap into the pool. Angie gave a loud 'nyahaha' and clapped her hands enthusiastically after the green-haired girl. "How divine!! That was a wonderful splash!!"

"T-Tenko, are you alright?!" Kaede became a worrywart as she dashed forward, nervous that Tenko hadn't come up yet, although that thought was remedied as a splash of water signaled her arrival. Tucking her now wet blonde hair out of the way, the pianist jumped a bit when she a squealish shout erupted from what must've been Tenko, except her hair was a grudge-like curtain over her face.

"-!! A demon, h-hold on, I'll banish it!!" Himiko seemed not to recognize Tenko though, and another comical situation ensued as the latter panicked and tried to get the redhead to recognize her as she moved like a sea monster unintentionally. Kaede'll let Kirumi handle that one.

"Kaede, God wants you to come with Angie!!" Kaede eyed Angie curiously as she tugged on her hand, but otherwise didn't resist much- although there was a bit of dread in her stomach. Wasn't one of the girl's island activities was holding your breath till you passed out?

"Uh, sure!! Where to- ooh!!" Kaede's last vowel became drawn out as Angie dashed forward as soon as she got the magic word of 'sure,' and she could faintly remember the dangers of running around the pool.

"We're going to jump from the highest point of the diving board- it'll be so fun, Angie promises!!" Angie assured Kaede as she skidded to a stop by the ladder, and although her stomach dropped, she swallowed the nerves and nodded politely. "Oh, uh, sure!! Do you want me to go first or-?"

"Yes please!!" And with that, Angie had Kaede climbing this terrifyingly high diving board- she couldn't help but worry about a body discovery announcement playing as soon as she reached the top, or bottom... ugh, don't think like that, everything is going to be fine!!

Despite the efforts to reassure herself, Kaede's stomach was in knots by the time she reached the top, and her hands became clammy as she felt the board way under her weight.

"Hey, I'm not sure this is such a great idea-" Kaede voiced her worries and anxiously backed up, turning around only to be faced with Angie right in her face with eerily glowing diamond eyes. Something bad was going to happen, she could feel it, but she still didn't want to distrust the other.

"Angie, what're you-?" Kaede managed to whisper out in a hushed tone, but she couldn't even finish as her efforts went in vain, Angie beaming and with a flourish, giving a strong push into the protagonist's mid section. The one answer she got for why was a happy exclamation as her body soared downwards : "He wanted to talk to you, Kaede, God told me so, say hi to him for me!!"

. . .

Water rushed in Kaede's ears, pounding against the body's built in drums as bubbles escaped in flurries from her nostrils. Floating, so peacefully, this was so nice...

'Kaede.'

Huh? She blinked away the sleepiness, or at least tried as she was submerged underwater, and she slowly blinked as a watery dark clothed male consisted of ripples in the waves called out to her.

'I'm sorry, I didn't...'

Sorry? Sorry for what? Kaede's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked at the boy, who let out a filtered sigh paired with a grim chuckle.

'No, I meant to do what I did, but that doesn't mean I don't regret it.'

Oh, that's what he means... Silly Shuichi, she doesn't mind!! She doesn't blame him at all, she holds no grudges, but how does she tell him that?

'You can get through this, I believe in you, Kaede.'

His appearance fading, Kaede frowned and reached out toward him, not wanting him to yet, her hands meeting warm tanned skin with a soft plush cheek.

. . .

"-!!" Kaede gasped as her face broke the surface, much appreciated air flooding into her system as she hungrily sucked it all into her lungs. Distressed voices surrounded her, and she could feel Tenko's muscled figure supporting her as they swam back to the edge of the pool, the blonde being pulled out onto the concrete and covered with a towel as soon as this transpired.

"Kaede, are you alright?!" Came Tenko's voice, fraught with worry as she checked over Kaede, and the pianist groggily waved her away. "I'm... I'm fine. What happened though...?"

"Angie brought it to our attention you hadn't come up to breath after jumping into the water," Kirumi began, a serious grimace on her features as she used the towel to dry off Kaede, "and Tenko went out to check on you."

Oh? That's what happened? Seems simple enough... so why does it feel like she's forgetting something? Well, overall it feels like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders- so they don't have to worry about her!!

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	24. Come and Get Your Love

it's time for freetime events!! some more quality time spent with the characters and cast, but this also means one step closer to the chapter two trial!! what did you think about these freetime events? the next two are coming soon!!

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Kaede would've thought the sun would be going down by this time, but in reality it was still noonish and there was plenty of time left in the day. Sitting on the edge of her bed after being ushered to take a rest by a worried group of girls, she felt the urge to get up and move around, despite their wishes.

So, brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt, Kaede hopped to her feet and turned to the door, going to grab the handle before noticing the oddly empty weight on her shoulders. Looking back at the sitting area, she realized she'd nearly left her backpack behind, and she lightly reprimanded herself for her carelessness.

Kaede reached out for it and grasped the white, somewhat course fabric, although her eyes couldn't help but be drawn to a familiar checkered bandana still tied around one of the straps. She felt herself falter for a moment, sentimental value of the object weighing down on her, but she pushed through with a smile and continued to make her way out of the dorms.

Kaede didn't even make it very far along one of the outside path ways when she saw a peaceful looking Rantaro sitting on a bench, his hair nearly blending in with the greenery around him. With the sound of her approaching footsteps though, he glanced up, and they both made eye contact accompanied with a pair of smiles.

"Kaede, good to see you." Rantaro laxly called out, rings clinking against each other as he raised a hand to wave a greeting. Kaede of course returned this gesture with a bright smile and wave of her own, and sped up to arrive at his side.

"Rantaro, hey!! Mind if I sit with you?" Kaede asked politely, although she thought she was nearly sure of what Rantaro's answer would be. As expected, his smile grew and he nodded, going to pat the seat beside him in both a goofy and mildly alluring way. "Sure, I was just enjoying the atmosphere."

On that note, Kaede too a seat on the bench, the slightly warm wood providing a comfortable sensation against her bare legs as she looked around to take in the view Rantaro was enjoying. The veranda where she and Angie had spent time together was not too far away from here, and the school was still looming above all ; overall it had a very nice summery atmosphere.

"Yeah, it is pretty nice, isn't it? A little overgrown, but you know...!!" Kaede agreed with a bob of her head although her tone wobbled a bit with uncertainty, and it seemed Rantaro took that into account as he nodded himself. Leaning back against the bench, his grassy green eyes scanned the area with a slight dip in his lips. "It's kind of weird though, isn't it?"

"What is?" Kaede parroted back with a tilt of her head, not really picking up on what he meant. Luckily Rantaro was nice enough to explain, and nonchalantly propped his torso up by slinging an arm around the back of the bench. "There's no birds, no chirping, no bugs buzzing, stuff like that. It makes it a lot less comforting when it feels so dead without them there."

Now that Rantaro had called attention to it, Kaede became painfully aware of how quiet it all sounded, a small knot of anxiety forming in her stomach. Swallowing the sudden bubble of nerves, she gave him a sheepish smile and clutched the edge of her seat. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it? It's kind of makes me a little uneasy..."

"Ahaha, wait no, sorry-" Kaede perked up a bit in surprise when she heard Rantaro's slightly louder exclamation, and he gave an anxious chuckle as he rushed through an apologetic statement. "Didn't mean to ruin the mood, that's my bad. Let's look at it this way : there'll just be plenty of noise made by us then, right?"

It took Kaede a moment to process Rantaro's surprisingly awkward words, but she managed to get the message after a bit of thinking, and she gave him a supportive smile in agreement. "You're right!! We've got plenty of pretty cool, and pretty loud, people to make up for that extra bit of silence!!"

Rantaro seemed to ease up when Kaede responded, and his smile became carefree once again, even if it wasn't much of a difference in comparison. "Definitely, every one of us has got their own special sorta vibe. If we can take one good thing out of this, it's that we got to meet a lot of amazing people."

"Mhm, that's for sure!!" Kaede readily agreed with a head nod, and still smiling, they fell into a not so comfortable silence. A few moments passed, and then a few more, and they just sat there, the blonde internally panicking that she was boring Rantaro. Well, it was up to her to save this conversation, then!!

"Hey, Rantaro- " Kaede began, the aforementioned male perking up when his name was called, "- why don't we talk about where you've visited while traveling? I think that'd be pretty cool to hear about!! Only if you're comfortable with that, though."

Rantaro gazed at Kaede for a moment before blinking appreciatively, obliging with a friendly tone of his own. "Yeah, sure, I don't mind. Any place in particular you might want to hear about?"

"Oh? Hmm, let's see..." Kaede mulled over the question and messed with the crease of her sleeve cuff as she thought. "How abouttt... how did you start traveling?"

A fondness melted into Rantaro's gaze at this question, and he looked up towards the sky for a moment as if he was filing through the memory cabinets in his mind. "That's a good thinking prompt... it's a bit hard to tell though, you see, since my dad's always been taking me on trips whenever he can. He likes spoiling his kids, I guess."

"Really? Are your parents financially well off?" Kaede asked curiously, which provoked a sheepish chuckle from Rantaro as he went to answer. "Well, my dad is. I don't know about my mom, they're separate- I don't think my dad's actually ever been married before."

Kaede felt herself panic somewhat as she realized she might've touched up on something personal, and she waved her hands preemptively to ward off any awkwardness. "Ah, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable!! You don't have to talk about that- "

"Nah, it's fine, Kaede, really. I don't mind sharing : honestly, if you're alright with it, I think it might be nice to get all this family stuff off my chest." Rantaro explained, closing his eyes briefly to perhaps enjoy the breeze that somewhat rustled his hair. "I never really share much about myself at all, I guess I don't like putting my worries on other people. But... something about you makes it easy to bring down my guard."

"Wait, really?" Surprise expressed itself on Kaede's features, and she felt her face flush somewhat in honor, it felt very nice to hear that!! She quickly started beaming, and putting a hand on her chest, she happily obliged with Rantaro's request. "I mean, I'm happy to know I can be there for you!! Go ahead, as long as you're comfortable, I'd love to help out."

"Thanks Kaede, you're a really good person." Rantaro's gratitude filled smile warmed Kaede's heart, and she just vigorously nodded her head again in compliance. "It's really no problem!! Now, go ahead, whenever you're ready!!"

Rantaro's smile softened further and leaned back against the bench, soaking in the sun for a moment as if readying himself. "Okay, so my dad is the head of a hotel business chain that's pretty successful, and he makes a lot of money, like a lot a lot. His whole motto is having the most pleasure-filled life possible, he wants to squeeze every bit of gratification out of it.

"He has a lot of dates and every so often he'll get pretty intimate, to the point where he actually has kids with the women he meets up with. He never stays together with the mothers though, so there's a lot of illegitimate children he's got." Kaede couldn't help but gasp and interrupt Rantaro's story telling, and she instantly felt an onslaught of guilt course through her as she went to put a hand on his shoulder. "I- I'm really sorry!! I didn't know that... was it um, hard for you? Did you keep in touch with your mom? If that's okay to ask!!"

"Don't worry about it, it doesn't bother me much." Rantaro reassuring gaze looked convincing enough, but for some reason Kaede just felt like there was something deeper hidden under his nonchalant attitude. Before she could question it more however, he continued on talking, and she didn't want to interrupt him again.

"I don't really know my mom that well, I know what she looks like but not much else. I don't mind though, my dad makes sure to take care of me and my sisters pretty well, twelve of us in total and we were still pretty content." Rantaro said yet another shocking thing so casually, and Kaede once again couldn't stop herself from inhaling sharply. "T-Twelve?? You have eleven siblings?!"

Rantaro laughed with a small blush tinging his cheeks at this, and went to fiddle with his silver rings absentmindedly before responding. "Yep, all sisters, and every one of them meant a lot to me. I picked up more than just one or two things from them."

Kaede looked at Rantaro in awe, and suddenly felt things clicking together in her head- so this is why he seemed so feminine and well versed in the girl world!! He wasn't a player or anything, he was just a really good big brother... why did that make him so much more attractive?!

"I was the third oldest, so I was put in charge a lot with my siblings since my eldest sister, Akihiro was off taking care of her own studies since she just got out of college. Then, Mikia was only a year older than me, 22 to be exact, and she was kind of distant from the family- "

"Woah, you're 21?! That means I'm a year older than you!!" Kaede made another untimely exclamation before she could close her mouth, and once she realized how rude she'd been she quickly began to apologize. "A-Ah, I'm sorry, go on, sorry for interrupting- "

"Hehe, it's fine, don't worry about it." Rantaro waved a hand to disperse Kaede's worries, and didn't linger to make a big deal out of the pause so she wouldn't fret any more than she already was.

"But yeah, she was pretty proud that she was older than me- always hanging it over my head, but that's what made her open up to me so I'm alright with that. She didn't talk much to anyone else. Then there was Nobuyuki, she was 19 and really energetic, took martial arts and was always trying to overpower me to prove herself." Rantaro's facial features were clouded with a melancholic sort of remembrance, and he seemed to be looking at the blurred outline of himself in one of his bracelets as he talked. "Rikona was always pretty annoyed by her- she'd be eighteen by now I think, although when we last left off she was 17. She was pretty mellowed out compared to Nobuyuki, and she was really into spirituality and all that stuff.

"Kikuko had just entered high school last time I checked, she was pretty loud like Nobuyuki, but more in a stubborn and sour sort of way. Not to talk bad about her I mean, she just really wanted to be independent, is all. Then there were were the 12 year old twins, Chiasa and Chinami ; Chinami was super artistic, and was like Chiasa's cheerleader, she absolutely adored her sister. Chiasa led both of them on all sorts of adventures, and she was somewhat tomboyish- but she also aspired to be a journalist and was pretty good at getting into other people's business. Finally, there was..."

Rantaro seemed to pause for a moment, and his demeanor appeared to wilt ever so slightly, much to Kaede's worry. She went to squeeze his arm and ask what was wrong, but before she could, he began talking again. "Takara, there was Takara. She was the youngest - apart from an unconfirmed baby sister we might have had - and pretty much everyone's favorite. We always went out of our way to appease her, since she couldn't really go anywhere due to being very ill. I'm not supposed to have favorites but..."

Rantaro smiled and ran a hand through his hair, smile extremely bittersweet as he spoke. "I think she was my favorite."

Now it was quiet, really quiet, and Kaede felt very uncomfortable. She'd never say it though, she was still glad to be able to be there for Rantaro, but there was just something so heavy about the words he'd said to her, and she didn't know why. Maybe it was because of... "Hey, Rantaro, why were you talking about your sisters only in past tense?"

Rantaro seemed startled to hear that question, and his expression went blank for a moment as he stared with slightly widened eyes at Kaede. It was kind of... eerie. He didn't say anything, it almost looked like he'd been caught in a trance.

What broke the spell just so happened to be a grumbling noise that made Kaede jump with a yelp, and made Rantaro's face flush as he went to pat his stomach. "A-Ah, sorry, I haven't eaten anything today. Guess I should go do that."

"Oh!! Erm, yeah, that makes... sense." Kaede still felt a bit dazed as she got to her feet at the same time as Rantaro, and through a hazy mind, she went to step forward towards the academy. The green-haired man did it at the same time though, and she had to retreat, only for him to do the same with their bodies angled towards each other, which caused their hips to bump in a comical fashion.

This continued for a bit like an odd little dance where they kept mumbling apologies and brushing against each other in a flustering way, but finally they managed to just stumble backwards away from each other. Kaede and Rantaro shared one last goofy glance and walked away from each other after that odd fiasco.

"Geeze, that was... something..." Kaede breathed out to herself, feeling oddly exhausted as she fanned off her steaming face, then going to put her clammy hands against her red cheeks, the cool comparison a nice change of pace. She really liked Rantaro, and she didn't hold anything against him!! That just felt like a really draining conversation, but she knew it was worth it when she dug deep and sensed the firm bond now between them both.

While in thought, she hadn't realized Kaede's feet had still been moving, and when she'd calmed down, she found herself to be in front of the bird cage fashioned greenhouse. She was surprised for sure, but just shrugged her shoulders and decided she might as well take a step inside and look around. If she'd subconsciously brought herself here, then that just means it was important to be here in the first place!!

Entering with a complacent smile on her face, Kaede was met by the calming sound of rushing water and the fresh smell of nature, along with the sight of a curious Kiibo sitting by the fountain. He looked super cute looking at the water, and splashing it around with- wait, Kiibo?!

"H- Hey, wait, Kiibo!! Are you alright?!" Kaede rushed forward in a hurry to grab Kiibo and try to pull him away from the water, which he resisted with a shout. Looking incredulously up at her, he pulled back and tried to escape her grasp. "What are you doing?! Kaede, stop this instant!! Wauhhh!!"

In the midst of the struggle, Kiibo pulled back too hard and sent himself wailing into the water, Kaede being pulled to her knees with a dismayed expression. "Kiibo, no!! I- I'm sorry, should I get Miu- ??"

"What are you talking about?!" Much to Kaede's surprise, Kiibo seemed to be functioning quite well, albeit being drenched and irritable. He huffed and climbed out of the fountain, shaking his head like a dog and getting droplets of water on the blonde. Still, she was relieved, but also confused : didn't he malfunction when wet?

"Kiibo, I'm sorry, I mean- I thought you couldn't be in water?" Kaede dumbfoundedly questioned, getting back to her feet and trying to figure what she could do to help. Kiibo seemed to furrow his brow at her for a moment before realizing her thought process, and presented himself in a proud way. "Miu has assisted in making me waterproof!! I didn't think I'd have to show off this new ability so soon, but..."

Kiibo sighed now and tried to dry himself, but his metallic hands didn't really do anything against the water, and Kaede didn't really have anything to help either. So, he just resigned to sitting down where he had before and letting the sun dry him off. Kaede, not really knowing what else to do in this situation, gave a sheepish chuckle and sat down beside him. "I- I'm really sorry, Kiibo!! I didn't know... but that's really cool that you're safe from water, now!!"

"No worries, I accept your apology, Kaede. And I suppose it is pretty impressive!!" Kiibo seemed a lot friendlier as Kaede turned the topic towards his capabilities and Miu, Kaede noted, so with a smile she engaged him further on the subject. "So, did Miu really add that feature all by herself?"

"Well, I wouldn't say she added a feature- she just readjusted the gears that control my cognitive abilities!!" Kiibo explained, a fond smile on his face as he patted his legs. "Professor Idabashi had originally focused on my movements being as smooth as possible, and Miu used the base he'd already built to add waterproof features to them!! So I'd say it was the help of both of them really, that helped me become the Ultimate Robot!!"

Kaede hadn't been expecting such a long string of words coming from Kiibo, but listened nonetheless, rather happy to see him talk about something he was obviously passionate about. He could probably go on a while since he never ran out of breath, couldn't he?

"What are some of your other features? Can you shoot lasers?" Kaede excitedly questioned further, although this resulted in an offended gasp from Kiibo. "Of course not, that's much too dangerous!! Idabashi implemented much more essential features for me to have!!"

"Oh, sorry!! ...what are those features, exactly, though?" Kaede was persistent with her curiosity though, and it seemed like this was the right call since Kiibo perked up at showing himself off. With a smile that almost resembled a smirk, he held out his hand for her to supposedly hold onto. "Here, I'll show you!!"

Kaede furrowed her brow in confusion at this, but still kept a smile on her face and did as told. Intertwining her fingers with Kiibo's, she was surprised to find his touch fairly warm, sending pleasant waves of heat into her hand. With an awed expression, she continued to flex her fingers in between his and gave a happy shudder as the heat continued its course throughout her body.

"Wow, you have some sort of uhh, thermal stuff built into you?" Kaede excitedly asked, and she looked up with an eager expression, although she was surprised to see Kiibo's stark red face. Robot's could blush...?

"I didn't think you'd- ah- yes!! I have heaters built into my body!! In fact, I should be completely dried off by now!!" Kiibo quickly recovered and retracted his hand awkwardly, and it was true that his body seemed relatively free of water. Still, she spotted a few droplets clinging to his hair, and with the intent to insist, she reached up and ruffled the water out hopefully.

"What are you doing?!" Kiibo's face quickly flushed red once again and he jolted away in surprise, Kaede quickly taking back her hand. Grimacing, she gave an apologetic look and retired her hand to her lap. "S- Sorry!! Your hair was still wet so I was trying to help dry it out, eheh, guess that was kind of weird though, huh?"

"'Weird'... yeah, I'd think so." Kiibo stiffly went to touch his hair, face still hot in a way that Kaede found pretty amusing ; she didn't want to provoke him even more, though, so she asked another question. "Are there any other features you feel comfortable telling me about?"

Kiibo at least seemed to perk up at this, a smile returning to his face, and he gave a readied nod. "Yes!! Here, my eyes actually have a flashlight installed and-"

"Ah!!" Kiibo had leaned over and suddenly, his eyes lit up right as Kaede had also leaned in to inspect what he was talking about. She yelped as her eyes briefly stung, and she quickly scooted back to safety. "I mean, they're v- very bright!!"

"Kaede, I'm sorry!!" Kiibo shut off his beaming gaze and gave a distressed apology, putting a concerned hand on her arm. Oh, how the tables had turned. Even so, Kaede giggled and waved him away, blinking a few times as her vision returned to normal. "It's not a big deal!! Those are pretty cool though, very practical!!"

"I suppose so..." Kiibo anxiously replied, and he seemed to be twiddling his fingers in a very endearing way. Huh, who knew robots could have such adorable quirks!! Kaede didn't like seeing him so embarrassed of his mishap, though, so she just decided to push along the conversation once again. "Anything else neat you wanna show me?"

"Neat?" Kiibo blinked at Kaede, and then he went amusingly bashful as he stood up all of a sudden. "Ah, yes, I guess I do have a new trick installed that Miu likes..."

"Ooh, and what's that?" Kaede smiled and prompted Kiibo to continue, a little excited to see what the great Miu deemed worthy of her enjoyment. He sucked in a quick breath, or at least it sounded like it, and beckoned her to stand up with him, which she did eagerly. "Don't laugh okay? Here goes..."

Kaede was starting to get pretty hyped up in anticipation, so she bobbed her head quickly in preparation. She watched as Kiibo hesitantly pressed against a panel in his chest, and she gasped as what looked like a cassette player popped out.

"Woah, can you play music on that?!" Kaede exclaimed and she gave a giddy clap of her hand, which Kiibo embarrassedly shied away from. He nodded and he continued to talk as he appeared to concentrate for a moment. "Yes... hold on..."

With a start, a nostalgic beat began to emanate from Kiibo, and Kaede recognized it as an awesome american classic- come and get your love!! She doesn't really listen to stuff like that often, but for some reason that tinge of normalcy made her chest extremely fuzzy.

"That's...!! That's amazing, Kiibo!!" Kaede gushed, and before he could mutter out a humble response, she'd pounced. Grabbing onto his hands, she got them into a waltz position, and it was a pretty goofy idea, but she could already tell that the serotonin she'd get from it was gonna be worth it.

"What are you doing, Kaede- ?!" Kiibo demanded, obviously caught off guard, but Kaede just gave him an amiable smile. "We're dancing!! Come on, it'll be fun- you do know how to dance right?"

"Of course I know how to dance!! But is this really necessary...??" Kiibo protested, although he wasn't trying to escape her grasp just yet, and Kaede donned a mischievous smile as she got an idea. "Of course!! I mean, all socially accepted members of society know how to dance!!"

Kaede watched with glee as Kiibo's surprise turned into resolve, and she felt like she was making someone out there proud with her teasing.

"Fine, bring it on then!!" Kiibo gave a determined shout, and Kaede couldn't help but give a bubbly laugh, which he looked offended at. "What?? I mean it, Kaede, let's dance- !!"

"Of course, of course!! Thank you so much, Kiibo!!" Kaede gave an uncontrollable grin to Kiibo, and his cheeks grew the slightest tint of pink before he averted his gaze. To the rhythm of the song, they shuffled around the fountain, the pianist leading him into spins and doing her best to avoid getting stepped on by the robot.

It felt really normal, not just normal, it felt great. Peaceful and lovely, and just for a moment, she forgot about everything that was going on, and just hummed along to the beat. Music never failed to brighten her day!!

<| |>


	25. Morning Dicourse

The last two freetime events will be next chapter, I hope you enjoy!!

<| |>

Kaede was in between being asleep and being half awake, she was perfectly aware of her surroundings to a distracting extent. She'd slept a little rough that night, and she couldn't exactly pinpoint why. She had a relatively good day yesterday...

Still, in the night, she could've sworn she heard someone mumbling curses, the clacking of objects against each other, and the clunk of something heavy against another surface. How odd...

Either way, she'd managed to get a decent amount of sleep, and woke up once the morning announcement blared to life. Yawning, she forced her heavy limbs to drag herself up into a sitting position. Blinking away the sleep, she rubbed at her eyes and acted as if she was going through her daily routine.

You could argue this was her daily routine now, but it certainly didn't feel that way to Kaede, it felt so alien and strange. For her own sake though, she had to soldier through it, because compared to other things she'd served witness to here, waking up and facing the day was relatively tame.

She got dressed, took a shower, and just as she went to get her backpack, she finally noticed the new oddity in her room. "Huh, when did this get here...?"

A weird, childishly colored monopad look-alike was laid down on the table in her living area, and she cautiously reached out to grab it. Turning it back and forth in her hands, Kaede reads the 'kuma pad' label on the back, then and there knowing that this was some sort of trick.

Kaede's first thought was to immediately put it down, but as she tightened her grip, her thumb managed to brush against the screen, causing the device to flicker to life.

A colorful screen revealed shadow figures of a twin-tailed girl mirroring each other, the text on the screen reading 'Maki Harukawa's Motive Video.' 

"Alright, back by popular demand, it's time for the motive video!! Who's the most important person in your life? And now, without a further ado..."

A small brunette with pigtails and a short pink-haired girl sit next to each other, playing dollhouse it looked like. The pinkette had a bright smile on her face and was constantly moving, which seemed to spark amusement in the vermilion gaze of the brunette, who gave a small smile.

"Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Assassin... she comes from a poor little orphanage, where she only had one true, close friend by the name of Tomodachi Shokumotsu!! They had a wonderful time, the two stuck together like glue- little did they know, the orphanage had a dark objective...

"The kids were scouted obliviously through their gym exercises to be trained as the murderhounds of a cult who was designed to be a ginormous hitman ring!! In fact, Tomodachi was a person of interest for the recruiters!! Maki overheard this with her natural sneaky talents, and surprisingly enough, did her best to prove herself from there on out!! She hadn't been trying at all, but now knowing her best friend's life was on the line, she managed to steal the attention away from the pink-haired girl.

"Although, this of course meant that Maki was now their prime choice, and she was swept away to be trained, leaving Tomodachi behind at the orphanage. The two haven't seen each other in years, but somehow, our wonderful executive team managed to score an interview with the childhood friend herself!!"

A peaceful looking pink-haired girl stared at the screen with wide doe eyes, looking oddly calm as she gave a cheery smile and a wave. "Heyyyy, MakMak!! Remember me?! It's Tomo!! I missed you so much, and I'm still missing you!! Hurry up and get back to the orphanage, I can't wait to see you!! I can't stay here for very long though... so hurry hurry!!"

The screen ends on the gleeful girl sticking out her tongue and giving a peace sign, and Monokuma's voice returns. "There you have it, 'MakMak!!' She's waiting, and it'd be so easy for you to kill someone and get away with it!! It's not like you care for these dimwits, so come on, get back to your bestie while you still can!!

"Another funny thing is... Tomodachi got back right around the cult's annual recruitment time!! Wonder what they'll have in store for her? Puhuhu!!" And with that, Monokuma popped up in front of the screen and patted his stomach triumphantly, and the video faded to black.

"What... was that?!" Kaede's voice cracked the silence with a bit of effort, and she stood staring at the screen in shock. There were so many things going on in that video, from a cult organization training hitmen to Maki sacrificing herself for her dearest friend, and most importantly, the fact that the video said her true talent was the Ultimate Assassin.

Kaede deathly felt afraid for both herself and just about everyone else she could think of, and she knew this was definitely not something she should've watched. She wanted to just throw it back down onto the table where it came from, but what if Maki somehow saw it in her room? She should keep it on her... just to be safe.

Kaede hurriedly tucked it into her backpack, still having trouble with her doubts of whether the video was real or not, and also wondering why she'd been the one to see Maki's motive video. A part of her told her that she should show the brunette, since this seemed so personal and important, but what would she do when it was revealed that Akamatsu knew about her true talent?! At the same time, this seemed like a motive for murder that would certainly hit closer to home for the person it was intended for.

Speaking of which... did Kaede have her own? Worry began to set in, and she pursed her lips as she slowly put on her bookbag, eyes clouded with thought. Who would be in her video? Her mom and dad maybe? Her brother? Her best friends, her... there was no use thinking about this!! It was only giving Monokuma what he wanted!!

With that in mind, Kaede slapped her hands against her cheeks and felt the anxiety leave her for a moment, and she made her way out of the dormitory before it could leak back into her body. No one else was in the open area of the dormitory it looked like, was she the last one again? Geeze, she didn't want to be that person...

With a quick pace, Kaede made her way out into the brisk morning air, heading towards the entrance of the academy when she spotted Kiibo speed-walking to her. "Oh, Kiibo-!!"

"Impeccable timing, Kaede!! I was on my way to come and get you." Kiibo got straight to business, cutting her off but also explaining the question she'd been preparing to ask, so she didn't mind all too much. Blinking, Kaede furrowed her eyebrows and gave a sheepish smile. "Really, ah sorry, was I that late-?"

"We're gathered in the dining hall!! Now, I have to get everyone else, see you there!!" Kiibo seemed to be skipping through her dialogue and sped off once again, leaving Kaede somewhat winded. She wouldn't take it personally though, she supposed it was just that endearing trait of his which held him to be as punctual as possible!!

Kaede continued to make her way to the dining hall, half-jogging half-walking until she got to the point where she could round a corner to the dining hall. She was about to do just that when she heard low verbal hissing, and she felt that once again she'd walked in on something she shouldn't have.

Carefully peeking around the corner, Kaede bore witness to a smiling Angie being cornered by Maki, who nearly had the other pinned against a wall as she muttered dark phrases. If she tried really hard, she could hear them, and with a heavy conscience, she listened in on them.

"...I know you have mine, I saw your stupid video. Just give me mine and don't tell anyone." Maki ordered, glowering intensely at Angie and doing her best to drive that intimidation ability home. The shorter girl just kept happily looking up at the other however, unfazed and seemingly confused. "Huuuuh? What do you mean, Maki? Angie doesn't have the slightest clue what you're talking about!!"

"Cut it out." Maki snapped, bristling in anger and Kaede gasped as she cocked her fist back to throw a punch. When the blonde did this, though, the brunette's head shot up and stared intensely in her direction, causing the protagonist to hurriedly duck and hide behind the wall.

It was quiet for a moment, Kaede's barely stifled breathing and Angie's humming the only thing filling the silence, Maki going completely nonverbal. After a bit more of holding her breath, a grunt could be heard and she heard someone growl, "I'll take care of you later."

The slamming shut of a door signaled Maki's exit, and with that, Kaede noisily began to suck in air, a cold sweat beading on her temple. Oh god... is that the treatment she would've gotten if the assassin figured out she had her motive video? She couldn't hold up like Angie did...

"Oh, hello Kaede, Angie didn't see you there!!" Kaede jumped as Angie's songbird voice sounded from beside her, and she gasped once again in surprise.

"A-Angie!! Hey... sorry, was just spacing out and stuff, you know?" Kaede gave a sheepish smile and hugged herself subconsciously, hoping she didn't seem too suspicious. Angie tilted her head at her, that same knowing smile placed on her lips before she shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "Alrighty then!! God says we have no time for that, though, so come!! Let's get to the dining hall!!"

"Ah, okay-?" Angie didn't Kaede much time to answer before she slipped her hand into hers, pleasantly tugging her along the last few steps into the dining hall. Surprisingly enough, there weren't many people in there, only Kirumi, Korekiyo, Himiko, Tsumugi, and... ah, of course, Maki.

"G-Good morning!!" Kaede stumbled through a friendly greeting, and shared a nervous smile, gaze moving around to take in everything except Maki. Korekiyo seemed relatively calm at least, and nodded politely at her, which made her feel just a little bit less awkward. "Good morning, Kaede. You seem a bit frazzled- was it the kuma pad?"

"Kuma pad?! You mean..." Kaede's eyes widened, and Angie answers any questions for her with a bubbly laugh. "You're not the only one who got one, silly!! We all did."

"We have all been given 'motive' videos, although they seem to be mixed up in a way." Korekiyo informed Kaede, and Tsumugi nodded in agreement when the blonde gave a questioning look. "Yeah!! I didn't even get my own video-"

"Tsumugi, we should discuss it when everyone's here. Hold off 'till then." Kirumi interrupted sternly, causing Tsumugi to jump and bat her eyelashes apologetically. "Oh, sorry, you're right..."

Kaede stood quietly and stiffly, like a statue as she watched the adults banter back and forth, waiting until she had a moment to jump back in with another question. "So you sent Kiibo to get everyone, right? Isn't that a bit much to do on his own?"

"Don't worry, Kaito went as well, so I believe both will be able to round up everyone efficiently." Korekiyo assured, one bandaged hand pinching at the bridge of his hat as he spoke. His voice was kind of intoxicating, it was easy to get lost in, but she had actual things to focus on right now!!

"Until then," Kirumi began with a business-like look, and she made her way swiftly to Kaede's side, hands going to massage her shoulders, "I can tell you're very wound up, here, let me assist."

"Eek-!! K-Kirumi, don't worry, that isn't really necessaryyy ohh my gosh...?!" Kaede's voice dipped into an unladylike noise as Kirumi managed to completely loosen up her back, which of course had been carrying a lot on it tension wise while here. "That feels... r-really nice actually-"

"Holy shit, are maid milkers and shitty me getting it on in the dining hall?! Holyyy shit, ha!!" Miu's loud laughter caused Kaede to immediately tense up again, and she yelped in surprise, face quickly heating up into an embarrassed shade of red. "No, it's not what it looks like-!!"

"I am simply giving her a massage, that is all." Kirumi's stern and cool voice swept in to back Kaede up, and coincidentally make Miu back off rather quickly. If she looked over her shoulder, the pianist was sure she'd find the maid wearing a displeased look.

"Damn, I was o-only joking around, pole-plug!!" Miu whined, shriveling up meekly but still managing to dish out a rude comment. Kiibo grimaced and put a hand on her shoulder, but obviously not approving of her actions, looked back to the now filled room. "Anyways, we brought everyone here as asked."

"Hm, how disappointing, just as I was about to serve witness to Kirumi's famed massage skills..." Korekiyo sighed with close eyes, although he did open them to shoot Kaede a wink. "But at least someone got a taste."

Kaede spluttered and went dizzy-eyed once again, not fully recovered from her last fluster ; Kiibo seemed to take offense to this though, drawing attention away from her. "What?! Are you suggesting I cannot read the air?!"

"So what is it, why did you drag us here?" Maki droned, and Kaede flinched at the sound of her cold tone, which drew the other's unwavering glare. Kaito was here now at least, so he managed to take the spotlight once again. "Didn't I tell you? It's about the kuma pads!! Monokuma gave us a new motive, we can't just not talk about it!!"

"The thing that looked like another monopad? That was the motive?" Himiko questioned further with an unimpressed gaze, and Tenko gave a tentative look. She seemed to want to speak, and was going about it nervously, twiddling her fingers as she finally got her words out. "H-Himiko, didn't you watch the video on the kuma pad yet?!"

"No, I ignored it because I figured it'd drain up my mana..." Himiko gave an unexpected answer back, seeming a little put off by how she'd apparently done an abnormal thing. Tsumugi smiled a bit bashfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she mused aloud. "That's actually really courageous in a strange sort of way."

"You don't have to speak up, but listen!! This is important!!" Kaito insisted with a fist clenched, and Kaede spotted Rantaro leaned against the dining table, hands in his pockets, laxly getting ready to speak. "So, first off we should probably clear up what these videos exactly were, right?"

"No doubt they're motives from Monokuma, but why are they all mixed up...?" Kiibo questioned a bit anxiously, and it almost appeared as though there was sweat glistening on his metallic forehead.

"Yeah, did they mean for Gonta to get Tsumugi's video-??" Gonta began, but he was cut off by Kiibo giving a loud exclamation. "No, don't say it, Gonta!!"

"A-Ah, Gonta sorry, he just realized!!" Gonta quickly retraced his steps and apologized, nervously glancing at Tsumugi, but leaving Kaede in confusion. Himiko gave a confused huff too, and scratched at her chin with pursed lips. "Nyeh, what do you mean, don't say that Gonta has Tsumugi's video?"

"Ah, I see... s-so Gonta has my video." Tsumugi seemed to go pale and she wrung her hands anxiously, supposedly not knowing what to think at this revealed information. Himiko, brow still furrowed, looked back and forth between the two. "What? Were you trying to hide it or something?"

"Who fuckin' cares?! We're gonna exchange them anyway, aren't we?!" Miu barked with an incredulous look, but Kiibo hastily shook his head at her. "No, we cannot exchange them."

"Why not? They're videos of the most important people in our lives?" Ryoma arched an eyebrow, seeming rather forceful and more tuned into the conversation than usual ; Kiibo gave a grave look and simply nodded at his words. "And that is precisely why must not share them.

"We might not know why our videos were mixed up, but it'd be best if the videos never got to their intended viewer." Kiibo explained matter of factly, and Kaede found herself agreeing with his logic. Himiko hummed in agreement, understanding it now along with the protagonist. "So it's best just to ignore them, then?"

"Yes, at least that's what I think." Kiibo affirmed after the fact, and Tenko hesitantly bobbed her head supportively. "That's true!! If Tenko never got her video, then Tenko doesn't have the motive to kill!!"

"I'm against that." Ryoma's voice was spontaneous and heavy, his gaze boring into Tenko's, obviously unsettling her. Tsumugi seemed a bit distressed to and gave the man a questioning look while playing with the cuff of her sleeve. "Why are you against it exactly? Do you... want to have a motive to kill?"

"Not one to kill, but you're right. I want that motive." Ryoma responded, and the intensity of his voice made Kaede's heart leap into her throat. She fearfully looked at the shorter male, and was reminded of his crimes, although she chose to direct her attention to the positive words of his sentence. "Not one to kill though, that's what you said, right?"

"Ryoma, you were saying something like that before- about not surviving..." Rantaro turned his thoughtful gaze to Ryoma, inspecting him carefully, but in a way that made it seem like he cared more about the other more than fearing him. "It might not matter to you or not, but it matters... it matters to me. I want you alive, Ryoma."

"Huh?" Ryoma seemed to falter in his dead gaze, a flash of emotion, at the very least confusion, in his eyes. "Stop joking around, you barely know me."

"I know you well enough that you want that motive video to have something to live for." Rantaro's tone wasn't pitying though, it held more resolve and understanding than that, which became clearer as he continued. "But you don't need that motive, because you don't have to look outside here for something to live for. If you want, I'm perfectly fine being that source for you."

A shocked silence enveloped the room, and it seemed like everyone had been polite enough to keep quiet as Rantaro spoke. The two men stood with their eyes locked, until finally, the mystery male blushed ever so slightly and laughed sheepishly. "Haha, sorry, that sounded kinda lame didn't it? Still, think about it, alright, Ryoma?"

When Ryoma kept quiet, staring off into space and supposedly considering Rantaro's proposal, Angie took this as a moment to jump in with a pondering expression. "Thoughhh, God thinks Ryoma has the right idea!!"

"To have a motive to kill?!" Tenko gave a panicked shout at this, eyes bugging out as she raised a question to Angie, who just laughed and shook her head. "Nooo silly!! Angie's just saying that we should share our videos with each other, leaving everything out in the open!!"

"Gonta thinks that might not be a good idea... won't that just give reason to want and get out?" Gonta gave an unsure frown, and it looked like he didn't really like the discord this decision was causing. Angie sighed and shook her head with a sad smile, going up to put a hand on his hand that sat at his side. "The thing is, the question will only torment us!! It'd be much more progressive if we tackled the issue head on and dealt with it that way- that's what God says!!"

"Well, she has a point..." Kaede had a difficult time disagreeing with Angie, they had a similar mindset after all, and it was true that this would possibly bring everyone together, uncomfortably close with no secrets to hide. You'd have to trust each other completely, and that's what Kaede wanted to do. But...

"That's stupid. You're just asking for a murder to happen doing that." Maki snapped, and Kaede's stomach twisted in on itself : if she played the assassin's motive video, what would happen? How would she react? That was her only worry.

"Anywhoooo- Gonta, God has chosen you as Angie's muse!! So come with her!!" Angie suddenly leapt forward and began to usher Gonta along, the green-haired male blinking in surprise. "Oh really? Okay...!!"

"Is he for real that damn stupid?" Miu joked as she watched the two walk off, hands on her hips as she tried to keep her cool. Rantaro just shook his head at her, crossing his arms over his chest contemplatively. "No, he's aware that she's trying to use him for something. He's just a people pleaser, so he's going along with it."

"Psh, yeah, whatever, lame ass." Miu snorted and rolled her eyes, turning to Kirumi with a demanding look. "Hey, servant kink, I'm gonna need you to wash my sheets for me, got these sugar tit fluid all over 'em!!"

Kirumi surprisingly nodded without making any other comments on the unsatisfactory request, and with that, Miu sauntered off. Maki also stood up and approached the maid, coarsely asking something as well. "I'm going to my talent lab- bring my dinner there whenever."

"Hey, Kirumi, can you clean my room? Thanks!!" Kaito also requested something of Kirumi before hurrying after Maki, Tsumugi trailing behind. Korekiyo chuckled and respectfully bowed his head to the silver-haired woman himself, blinking apologetically at her. "My apologies, but if it's alright, I must ask you to find some sort of paper or recording device for me to record my findings on. There are a lot of observations to make, at such a pressing time for the human race."

"Of course, it'd be my pleasure." Kirumi managed to offer up a smile to Korekiyo as he muttered his thanks and exited, calling briefly over his shoulder that, "I'll be in the library, thank you very much."

"Kirumi!! You can't let them leech off of you like that!!" Tenko declared once most had exited the dining hall, and Kirumi merely shook her head in polite dismissal. "No, it's fine, do not worry about me. It's any maid's want to have things requested of them-"

"Himiko, what's wrong?!" Tenko had dropped the subject quickly when she noticed Himiko's glum look, and she was clearly distressed as she looked for answers when met with silence. "Are you hungry? Then how about we eat together?! Kirumi, one tripe hot pot please!!"

"Tenko..." Kaede frowned as she glanced at Kirumi, worried about the workload just poured on top of her. "Will you be alright?"

"Of course, I'll be fine. Like I said, this is what I want." Kirumi smiled reassuringly at Kaede and before the blonde could respond, made for the kitchen to presumably cook breakfast.

"What's the matter Himiko? You don't like tripe hot pot?" Tenko was still fussing over Himiko when Kaede turned her attention back to the two left there, and she approached them with a smile. "I don't think Himiko is hungry..."

"Anyways, let's enjoy tripe hot pot!!" Tenko insisted, and it seemed like maybe the meal was more for herself than Himiko, which Kaede could understand as her stomach growled itself. So, sitting down with the others, she enjoyed herself a quirky take on a breakfast meal.

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